Perhaps the most eclectic show of the weekend took us to New Jersey for ACTION Wrestling’s DEAN~!!!
Quick Results
Alex Kane pinned Colby Corino to retain the ACTION Championship in 7:53 (***¼)
O’Shay Edwards, Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman pinned Tyler Stevens, Suge D & Kevin Ryan in 9:37 (***¼)
Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini pinned Rob Killjoy & White Mike in 6:36 (***)
Tank & Jaden Newman pinned 1 Called Manders & Tom Lawlor in 8:18 (**¾)
Bobby Flaco, Rico Gonzalez & Brayden Toon pinned Isaiah Broner, Hoodfoot & Danny Demanto in 7:53 (**½)
Gringo Loco defeated Dr. Cerebro via disqualification in 12:59 (***)
No Disqualification: Dr. Cerebro submitted Gringo Loco in 3:43 (***)
Krule pinned Warhorse Jake Parnell to retain the IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship in 15:04 (***½)
Matt Makowski submitted Arez in 6:21 (***¼)
Slim J pinned Adam Priest in 11:29 (***¾)
Marcus Mathers & Austin Luke pinned Judas Icarus & Travis Williams in 9:50 (***¼)
Dog Collar Match: Mad Dog Connelly submitted Demus in 9:12 (****)
Daniel Makabe pinned Timothy Thatcher in 16:38 (****½)
We’re live from the H2O Wrestling Centre in Williamstown, New Jersey for a show that’s a tribute to Dean Rasmussen from the DVDVR message boards. The show opens with a shot of a chair reserved for him, with a VHS tape and a six pack on it… hope there was something good on it!
Commentary comes from the usual ACTION pairing of Dylan Hales and John Mosley…
ACTION Championship: Colby Corino vs. Alex Kane (c)
Corino passes the message onto the ring announcer that he’s already knackered after six matches this week… including at least one match based around a headlock.
Corino gets the crowd chanting for a headlock at the bell, and that’s the first thing he grabs, but Kane pulls a leg to get free and tries for an ankle lock. It’s rolled out of as Corino goes back to the side headlock, this time with Kane countering out into a hammerlock before Corino spun Kane around… and back into another headlock.
Shoved off, Corino hits the ropes, and of course he’s back to the headlock, this time looking for a takedown which he finally gets off the ropes. A dropkick through the ropes followed, as did a tope into a side headlock. Kane’s fed up and dumps the challenger onto the side of the ring with a side suplex, before he countered another side headlock by charging Corino nuts first into the ring post.
Back inside, of course Corino goes to the side headlock, but Kane’s got it figured out now as he switches it into a back suplex. Crossface punches keep Corino down, before he was trapped in the ropes for some elbows and a kick to the side of the head. Corino sidesteps a charge in the corner and is right back with that headlock, which he turns into a headlock takedown to throw Kane into the corner.
Another headlock switches into a bulldog out of the corner for Corino, before a crossbody turned into a headlock takedown for a near-fall. At least Colby’s being inventive and isn’t just slapping the headlock on ad nauseum with no switches. Kane’s right back with a backfist before a headlock blocked an Olympic slam… with Corino then switching up into an Air Raid Crash for a near-fall.
In the end though, Corino’s headlock obsession costs him as Kane countered out into the Mark of Kane… and that’s your lot. ***¼
The Good Hand (Suge D, Kevin Ryan & Tyler Stevens) vs. AMBOSS (Laurance Roman & Robert Dreissker) & O’Shay Edwards
“You send the Germans over, we’ll send them back,” said Suge D of their opponents which included… one German. Unless Tyler Stevens’ recent stint in Germany led to him being naturalised in a hurry?
Sadly we’ve got no AMBASS as they come out to O’Shay’s music. We get going with Dreissker and Ryan, and it’s not a good star for Ryan who’s shoved into the corner. Laurance Roman’s in for a double sledge to the arm, before Ryan scooted away as tags bring on Stevens and Edwards.
Stevens tags in Suge D instead, so we have to wait for the big lads. Suge chops O’Shay, but a follow-up armdrag’s stuffed as O’Shay just chopped him down. Simple but effective. Ryan’s back to try his luck. A pat on O’Shay’s head just led to Edwards running over Ryan, before a caught crossbody was turned into a stalling suplex.
Roman’s back to get a two-count from that, before some mounted punches ended with Stevens clotheslining Roman from the apron. It nearly got the win, as the Good Hand began to triple-team Roman… including Roman getting pulled into the opposite corner by his trunks as he threatened to break free.
The triple-teaming continues, leading to an elbow drop/sidewalk slam for a near-fall as the Good Hand deliberately confused. Kid Lykos, sorry, Kevin Ryan actually hits a brainbuster on Roman for a two-count, before Roman finally fought free with an enziguiri to Stevens… but O’Shay’s pulled off the apron as Roman went for a tag. Good detail there with Dreissker being on the floor to play up existing stuff back home.
Eventually Roman’s able to sneak free and tag in Dreissker, who just clobbered everyone with clotheslines. Kevin Ryan jumps Dreissker from behind and gets a big back body drop in (cheap pop) and a death valley driver for a near-fall. I see what you’re doing there…
I cackle like a madman as Suge shouts “Kevin, watch out!” as Dreissker went for a ripcord lariat. Hey, it worked as Ryan ducks it and returned with a head kick, before Stevens got the tag in to charge down Dreissker with a clothesline of his own. A ripcord clothesline stops Stevens, who’s affectionately known as the Wall around these parts. In the end, a step-up enziguiri from Roman led to a fallaway slam from Dreissker… then a big ol’ moonsault from Edwards gets the win. Yet another entry to the “trios matches are rarely bad” list, with the big lads doing the business after Roman had been isolated early on. ***¼
The Ugly Sucklings (Rob Killjoy & White Mike) are out next – unannounced – because they’ve got an open challenge…
Ugly Sucklings (Rob Killjoy & White Mike) vs. Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku)
Okay, I was going to rant about the general bloat of matches on these shows, but everyone recognising Zombie got a huge pop out of me. Let’s go!
A jump start from the Sucklings see them take Ku outside so they could isolate Garrini… leading to a Kitchen Sink knee and a diving knee before Ku came in and ran roughshod. Ku’s thrown into White Mike as a short wheelbarrow Codebreaker onto the knees and a Quebrada wiped out Ku.
Garrini’s in next to take a dropkick for just a one-count, ahead of a cheating abdominal stretch as the Sucklings looked in complete control. Repeated legdrops from Killjoy and a knee drop from White Mike gets a two-count after he’d been shucking and jiving, before Garrino caught Killjoy in a triangle. Problem was, it was in the Sucklings’ corner, as White Mike tagged in… but Killjoy’s quickly back in as Garrino’s double back suplex finally bought him some time.
Ku gets the tag in and runs wild with slams and clotheslines, leading to a backdrop hold a la Nagata for a near-fall. A springboard stomp from Killjoy takes out Ku ahead of a front kick, while White Mike tagged in to hit a backdrop ahead of a springboard legdrop from Killjoy for a near-fall.
White Mike’s front facelock giant swing nearly wins it, before things broke down into a slugest. A paintbrush of a slap from Ku clears the way ahead of Mike eating a Go 2 Sleep from Garrini, then a Dragon suplex from Ku, before a back body drop/powerbomb – the Last Finish – got the win. Pretty good for an unannounced outing, and over in pretty quick time. A good showing for VIF… ***
They switch the canvas, so this must mean blood is coming…
Coven Of The Goat (Jaden Newman & Tank) vs. 1 Called Manders & Tom Lawlor
They switch this up into a “Gypsy Joe Rules” match… yeah, they put the marked canvas back on for a reason.
We’ve a jump start as Lawlor was just about finishing putting his gloves on – commentary seems to think he’s in scrubs, but I’d be more inclined to think he’d simply not had time to change. Heading outside, Tank throws Lawlor into the wall while Manders and Newman slug it out on the outside as the referee tried in vain to get them all back inside. Yeah, good luck with that.
Newman and Lawlor almost head outside, but instead Newman takes Lawlor into the front row for some mounted punches. Manders grabs a can from DEAN~!!!’s seat and shares some with Tank as Lawlor did a lap of honour into a cannonball into Newman… all while Tank and Manders had a drink. Tank wasn’t too pleased with the lager…
Manders uses a chair to break up Newman’s choke on Lawlor, then again to Tank’s back before he used DEAN~!!’s chair and chopped Tank into it. A lap of honour from Manders ended with him having a chair thrown into him, while Tank came up red as Lawlor was thrown into the side of the ring. It’s getting a little tricky for everyone to keep up with, as Manders painted Tank’s blood onto his own forehead.
On the outside, Lawlor DDTs Newman onto a chair, while Manders and Tank have another bar fight, leading to them trading headbutts before they fell into each others arms. Lawlor’s up next with a double stomp off of the mini step ladder onto Newman, before Tank caught Lawlor with a spinning toe hold back inside.
Eventually Lawlor breaks free as Manders chucks another chair at Newman on the floor. All four men are back inside throwing shots, before Manders snapped at Newman with a Stampade, before Lawlor’s PK drew Tank in to break it up. A rear naked choke from Lawlor looks to end it, but Manders’ lariat wipes out his own man as Tank and Newman hit back with a dropkick-assisted side Russian legsweep for the win. **¾
They switch the canvas again as Jaden Newman wiped some elbow blood onto a fan’s sign. Alrighty!
Bobby Flaco, Brayden Toon & Rico Gonzalez vs. Danny Demanto, Hoodfoot & Isaiah Broner
“3 Flippy Guys vs. 3 Strong Motherfuckers” – alright then! We’ve a delayed start because Demanto wants a mic, because he wants “a traditional wrestling match” with the exception of one door. They get the “SPO Door”, so there’s your plunder.
Flaco starts us off with a crossbody that’s caught as the flippy guys were playing hit and run… they’ve already broken the door after someone stood on it, but it’s still good, it’s still good. Hoodfoot tries to break it by throwing the door at Toon as he came off the ropes, before a Bossman slam from Broner took care of Gonzalez.
Flaco’s in to get chopped by Broner, who then caught an armdrag as Demanto came in and obliterated Flaco with a clothesline. Demanto takes Flaco into the corner for some chops, before a crossbody from Flaco was caught and turned into an Air Raid Crash. Hoodfoot’s back to stay on Flaco with slams, while Broner picked up Flaco like a baby and walked him across the ring for a fallaway slam for a near-fall.
Demanto’s back to run the ropes into a chinlock on Flaco, before a back senton squashed Bobby. Hoodfoot’s in to try and stomp through Flaco, but Flaco’s finally able to get free and make the tag in to Toon, who catches Hoodfoot with an enziguiri. A second one’s ducked as Toon took a cutter instead, as a Parade of Stuff broke out with Gonzalez getting wrecked with a Drilla piledriver.
Flaco’s back to surprise Demanto with a tornado DDT, but Broner’s in to hit a chokeslam… then spear Flaco through the door. Toon low bridges Hoodfoot and Demanto to the outside for an eventual moonsault off the apron, before the camera missed Rico doing something to Broner… while Flaco hit a flying cutter to Broner for the win. Yeah, this one just didn’t land with me if I’m being honest – a clash of styles that looked better on paper than in execution. **½
Gringo Loco vs. Dr. Cerebro
This is the first time I’ve seen Cerebro, which kind of tells you how little I’ve been around the DVDVR/lucha spaces…
Cerebro takes things to the mat early on as Loco caught him with a Figure Four – surprising those who were expecting Gringo to be flippy here. Cerebreo manages to escape and return with a Deathlock that got piled up into a STF, but Gringo’s able to break free… only to get caught in a roll-up for another two-count for Cerebro.
Gringo heads into the corner to compose himself, before the pace quickened with leg sweeps and roll-throughs. Cerebro fakes through a handshake as he Matador’d Gringo, so Gringo came back with a kick to the gut before a wheelbarrow armdrag was cartwheeled out of by Gringo.
A tijeras takes Cerebro into the corner, but he’s able to hit back with a springboard dropkick to take things outside, where a tope took Gringo into the third row. Shoulda moved, folks! Staying outside, Cerebro and Gringo trade chops as they fought around the merch table, returning to the ring as Cerebro picked up a two-count.
Cerebro stays on top, choking Gringo in the ropes before Gringo found a way back with a handspring back elbow for a two-count. Heading up top, Gringo’s able to push Cerebro down to the mat for a double-jump moonsault for a two-count, before Cerebro thought he’d come back with a ‘rana… but Gringo powerbombs him down for another near-fall.
Gringo goes to rip at the mask, which of course winds up Cerebero who went back to the mat, sweeping the leg as he then tied up Gringo’s leg ahead of an arm snapper. Knee drops target Gringo’s shoulder, before Cerebro brought in a chair and hit Gringo in the arm with it for the DQ. Not a popular finish, and the pair keep on fighting afterwards, albeit with the ref having vanished into thin air… ***
Oh wait, they restart the match, under no-DQ rules:
No Disqualification: Gringo Loco vs. Dr. Cerebro
Cerebro stays on Loco’s arm as we resume, before he… missed a cannonball off the top.
Gringo takes Gringo back into the corner and up top for a superplex… instead landing an avalanche Falcon arrow. Gringo can’t make the cover quickly, giving Cerebro time to recover and kick out at two. Another trip up top ends with Cerebro throwing a chair at Gringo, before he joined him on the buckles, only for Gringo to bring him down with a one-man Spanish Fly for a near-fall.
Gringo goes for a chair, but Cerebro kicks it away before he took Gringo down into a Tequila Sunrise… and there’s the submission. Stitched together, this was a fun outing, but it took me a while to get into it. ***
Ahead of the next match, Avery Good’s out with his Foo Fighters-on-loop music. He stripped Krule of the IWTV title last year, but Krule continued to defend his version while then beating Alec Price for the “legitimate” belt. Good’s got a peace offering, as he’ll be giving the winner of the match a new IWTV title belt.
IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship: Warhorse Jake Parnell vs. Krule (c)
Warhorse has gone through a bit of a change since I last saw him – he’s not all-caps any more, and is more of a nihilist. There’s one guy who’s really into Krule…
Krule went for the throat early, but Parnell shoves him away as the former champion was forced into a striking game. An enziguiri from Parnell led to him getting charged down with a snapping sidewalk slam instead. Parnell takes Krule outside with a clothesline, then stood on his hand before he followed outside, with things going into the front row as Parnell got chopped around.
A switcheroo sees Parnell put Krule in the chair, but a charge is caught as Parnell gets tossed into the crowd with a fallaway slam. Parnell launches a barrage of chops, but Krule cuts him off with a chokeslam onto the side of the ring, only for Parnell to charge back out with a tope con giro that wiped out the champion.
Back inside, Parnell stays on Krule with chops before he kicked out Krule’s knee… only for a teased suplex to be overpowered with ease. Krule heads up top, but gets caught by Parnell who knocked him back onto the apron… a suplex back in eventually finds its mark, but that took a lot out of Parnell, who misses an elbow into the corner as Kruel began to smother him.
A back suplex folds Parnell in half, but he’s right back with an Exploder before he caught Kruel in the corner with a running knee. It’s good for a two-count, before Kruel caught Parnell by the throat to stop an elbow drop… and come right back with a chokebreaker for a near-fall that looked way closer than called.
Heading back up top, Krule’s superplex is fought out of, but Parnell took an ugly spill on the way down, recovering as he added a sunset bomb out of the corner for a near-fall of his own. The top rope elbow drop follows from Parnell… then another… before a third one was stopped by Krule’s avalanche chokeslam.
Krule’s back up to a knee first, but an errant clothesline knocks the ref out of his shiny shoes… a chokeslam to Parnell followed as Avery Good hit the ring and hit Krule with a chair. Of course it has no effect, as Adam Priest came in with a second chair to wipe out Krule, disappearing as Parnell hit another elbow off the top for a near-fall. Good pulls out the second referee and throws him down, before he handed a chair to Parnell… it’s pushed aside as the camera just about caught Krule throwing a fireball at Parnell. From there, the Scorched Earth follows for the win – a match that was getting good before the storylines and run-ins got a little too much. That’s on me for flying in for this one… ***½
Post-match, Jonathan Gresham’s out there to confront Kruel. The camera highlights a ridiculous size difference, and in conjunction with that, Gresham’s coat made him look like Paddington Bear. The locker room empties out to separate the two as the first IWTV champion looks to be going for Kruel next…
Arez vs. Matt Makowski
Back from intermission, and Matt Makowski’s hot-footed it from Bloodsport to be here…
Opening up with a lock-up, Arez throws Makowski aside as he played keepaway to start, before finally finding a way in with a wheelbarrow armdrag. A trip up from Makowski sets things off again for roll throughs ahead of a tijeras to Arez, only for Arez to come back with kicks as he took Makowski outside for a low-pe.
Back inside, a step-up moonsault press nearly wins it for Arez, before an exchange of strikes ended with Arez going for a Mistica… Makowski blocks it, before he fought out of a powerbomb and instead trapped Arez with a trapped-arm armbar. Kicks target that arm, ahead of a wheelbarrow roll through and a pop-up into a cross armbar.
Arez tries to get free, but Makowski keeps hold of the arm, and traps a leg as well before Arez rolled him up for a near-fall. An overhead kick from Arez rocks Makowski as a series of shots looked to end in a powerbomb… but instead Arez counters the counter into a Northern Lights for a near-fall.
Another step-up moonsault presses from Arez as Makowski quickly came back with an O’Connor roll into the cross armbreaker for the submission. Short, but they packed a LOT into this… just what you want on these weekends. ***¼
Adam Priest vs. Slim J
Slim J’s at least kept his sparkly visor from that AEW run – which came to an end this past week…
Priest decides to go all Colby Corino early on with a side headlock, but Slim J shoves his way free, before he rolled Priest down into a triangle… but they’re in the ropes for the insta-break. Back inside, Priest roughs up Slim J with a slap in the corner, before he used the ref as a human shield.
In response, Slim J uses the ref’s hand to slap Priest, before he baited Priest in for some twisting headscissors and a dropkick to take things outside. Priest avoids a dive out, and caught Slim J between the ropes with a neckbreaker on the way back in. An elbow drop keeps Slim J down… only for Slim to grab an armbar as he was grasping at straws.
Priest gets out and wrecks Slim J with a back elbow. Chops follow, but Slim J keeps going… only to get caught with a vertical brainbuster for a near-fall. An abdominal stretch keeps Slim J in trouble, but he’s able to hit some spinning headscissors to counter a counter to a hiptoss escape. Slim J crashes and burns on a crossbody from there, allowing Priest to pounce with a piledriver for a delayed near-fall.
A back body drop on the apron stops Priest from hitting a piledriver. It almost led to the count-out, but Priest rolls back inside as Slim J looked to follow up, landing a jawbreaker and some clotheslines as he built momentum. Cravat knees looked to lead to an Asai DDT, but Priest blocks it and returned with a German suplex to stem the tide.
Priest takes things back up top, but he’s shoved back down… and returns looking for a top rope ‘rana. It’s blocked, allowing Slim J back in with a butterfly Destroyer out of the corner for a near-fall. A guillotine follows, leading to the arm drop gimmick, but Priest holds on and pulls Slim J’s ear in a bid to get free.
Slim’s taken into the ropes, where Priest jerks him up into the ropes to violently force the break, only for Slim to hit right back with a twisting Asai DDT for the win. This got real good towards the end, with Slim J taking this shot to put his name back out there – and hopefully this leads to more bookings for him after the week he’s had. ***¾
Sinner And Saint (Judas Icarus & Travis Williams) vs. Wasted Youth (Austin Luke & Marcus Mathers)
We’re starting this one at pace as Williams and Luke locked up and went to the mat, looking for a hold before they scrambled back into the corners.
Tags bring in Mathers and Icarus, who keep the pace high as Icarus’ Magistral forced an early kick out before Mathers slowed it down with an armdrag and an armbar. Luke’s back to take Icarus into the corner for a big boot, following up with low superkicks from Luke and Mathers for another one-count.
Williams kicks Luke in the ropes, creating an opening for Icarus, who threw Luke down… while Williams dragged Luke to the outside as all hell broke loose. A flying knee from Williams off the apron took down Luke, while Icarus took over back inside with an inverted X-Plex for a near-fall.
Williams is back in for an assisted back suplex for a two-count as Sinner and Saint looked to control proceedings for a spell. Luke’s held in a Gory stretch as Williams added some strikes, before Williams popped up Luke… who hit Icarus with a reverse ‘rana before making the tag out. Mathers goes to town on Williams with chops and a springboard stunner out of the corner, while a German suplex had Williams rocked.
A springboard crossbody out of the corner nearly wins it for Mathers, who threw in a hook kick before a kick-assisted brainbuster and a frog splash from Luke almost got the win after some confusion over who was legal. Luke stays in but gets dizzied into the corner for dropkicks from the Canadians, who then focused on Mathers with a knee to the back and a misdirection tope to the outside.
Back inside. Luke’s left isolated as he took a stunner before he was popped up into a Williams German suplex for another near-fall. More double-teaming shuts down Luke ahead of an elevated dropkick from Williams to Mathers… but Luke finally avoids a double-team then took down Sinner and Saint with a double clothesline of his own. Mathers tags in from there to hit a stomp on a Tower of London… before Icarus took a Go 2 Sleep and a 450 splash for the win. ***¼
Another canvas change… so we’re in for blood!
Dog Collar Match: Demus vs. Mad Dog Connelly
Connelly’s made a name for himself on the US indies with dog collar matches, while Demus is in a similar position thanks to his Bull Terrier matches in Mexico. One and the same…
Connelly whips the chain into Demus’ mouth to get us going. Shoulder tackles from Demus see him try to move Connelly, before he spat in his face… and earned himself a wicked clothesline in return. More clotheslines follow as Demus is walloped in the corner ahead of a basement dropkick, and thanks to some biting… here comes the blood!
Demus gets punched with a chain that looked a little rusty, and and it’s all Mad Dog here as he took a taste of that blood. Heading outside, Demus is thrown into the ring post, then fell into a fan as that chain’s put to use again, with every part of the building getting an up close and personal view of the fight.
Demus gets caught with a swinging bin from Connelly as they finally make it back inside as commentary noted they didn’t know how to win this. Thankfully it’s not touch-the-corners…
Connelly misses a clothesline in the corner and gets slammed for his troubles… a stomp and a back senton got Demus a two-count, before he took off his shirt and choked Connelly with it. More back sentons squash Connelly for a two-count, before Demus was handed a chair that the just lobbed at Connelly. Another chair’s dropkicked into Connelly in the corner, leading to things spilling outside as the crowd scatters in expectation of more bin shots.
Kicks from Demus led to a headbutt as Connelly’s then tossed back into the ring post. Back inside, Demus has to reposition himself ahead of a crossbody off the top for a two-count, before he pulled Connelly into a choke using the chain. Demus loses grip, allowing Connelly back up to punch him out with the chain ahead of some casual hanging that was countered with an inside cradle for a near-fall. Changing tactic, a chain-assisted triangle follows… and that’s enough for Demus to give up on this bloody violence. That’s two fantastic dog collar matches I’ve seen in a week… I’m converted! ****
Timothy Thatcher vs. Daniel Makabe
The fifth – and final – meeting of these two, after a series in Seattle’s 3-2-1 BATTLE! promotion that broke through the deep underground of the indies along the way to a wider audience. Makabe’s very much into time added on in his career, with his final match being in July… so will this series end 3-2 to him or to Timo?
We’re just shy of 11.30pm local time when this gets going, with Thatcher slapping away a handshake as the pair scrambled looking for a clinch, ending with them locking up into the ropes. Thatcher takes things to the mat for a toe and ankle hold, before he just stood on Makabe’s head.
The ropes force another break, but Thatcher escalates things into the corner as he forced the issue early on. A waistlock takedown has Thatcher ahead as he went for a chinlock, but Makabe manages to grab the arm before he went after Thatcher’s taped-up left leg. Thatcher slips out and tries for a bow-and-arrow hold, hooking the nose as he went as the crowd wasn’t appreciating the shortcuts.
Makabe grabs the wrist and floats out of the hold, looking for a double wristlock before Thatcher went back to the face, looking to smother the Canadian ahead of a pinning attempt. Back to their feet, Thatcher took it to the ropes looking for a rebound belly-to-belly, but Makabe grabs the rope before he was rolled down for a wristlock.
Punching free, Makabe goes for a double wristlock as Thatcher was trapped in headscissors, but again Thatcher escapes and torques that wrist again as he had Makabe’s back. Getting free, Makabe begins to go after Thatcher’s bad wheel, locking in a heel hook as Thatcher needed the ropes to make the save. From the restart, both men swing for the fences as Makabe rolled Thatcher back down into a double wristlock, then back into a heel hook as Thatcher again tried to kick his way free.
Thatcher closes the distance and headbutts his way free… but Makabe’s right on with a leg grapevine as Thatcher again needed the ropes. Kicks from Thatcher try to keep Makabe away from him, before things eventually went back to the mat as Thatcher just kneeled on him amid a leglock. It’s back to the wrist front here as Thatcher was working his way around the body parts, dropping a knee to the elbow before an uppercut caught Makabe’s back for a two-count.
Thatcher’s search for an armbar was almost rolled out of by Makabe, but one wrong turn had him in trouble… even more so when Thatcher caught an attempted kick free. Rolling into the mount gives Makabe an opening as he aimed for Thatcher’s ear with a punch, before a cross armbreaker was broken with a receipt.
A half crab follows from Thatcher, but the ropes save Makabe… who then almost had his arm yanked out of the shoulder. Looking for a chickenwing, Thatcher stays on the offence as Makabe slipped out in search of the Makabe Lock… which he gets as Thatcher needed to roll out of the hold… and into a rear naked choke! It switches into body scissors as Thatcher got free, throwing a nonchalant look as Makabe slapped the back, opting to tweak the fingers once again.
Grounded headscissors on the mat are broken by Makabe, who goes back after Thatcher’s bad knee, with an eye rake breaking it up as Thatcher began to up the aggression again. Knees to the back led to Makabe slapping Thatcher, who pinned Dan’s arms behind his back for some headbutts to the shoulder blades. Another rear naked choke follows, but Makabe goes back to that knee though, forcing Thatcher to kick his way free.
Back to his feet, Thatcher goes for a rebound belly-to-belly, but he’s caught with a big boot in the ropes before Thatcher mounted a comeback with uppercuts. A stomp to the arm stops those uppercuts as Makabe came in with some of his own, only for Thatcher to return another favour.
With both men having a compromised arm, they switch it up into headbutts, with Makabe winning out as both men crumpled to the mat. Out of nowhere, Makabe’s death valley driver las Thatcher down as he then looked to set up for a Makabe Lock… but Thatcher stops him in his tracks with a Fujiwara armbar. Going back to the knee helps Makabe free as he kept going for the Makabe Lock π again… but to no avail as a Big Unit punch instead waited for Timo on the mat.
A second one follows as Thatcher got back to his feet, then a third one – this time to the ear – and that’s your lot. Going for the Makabe Lock wasn’t doing it, and much like Cole Palmer did earlier in the day for his beloved Chelsea, Dan Makabe won it at the death with a hattrick. Of course I was going to love this one, and I wasn’t left disappointed! ****½
Post-match, Makabe gave Thatcher his scarf – a throwback to the feud in Seattle when Thatcher gave him his RINGKAMPF scarf – before he took the mic to close out the show with some words of encouragement (“you’re never too old to live your dreams”), a shoutout for the Daisuke Ikeda-inspired gear he sported, and with a tribute to Dean Rasmussen and DVDVR.
DEAN~!!! was a strong, consistent show – albeit one that was starting to a feel long before things really kicked into gear at the end. The sickos who are watching (and reviewing) everything will say it as well, but when there’s so many shows going, you really really don’t need to be running north of three hours. Still, those who circled this show on the weekend’s lists like me got more than their money’s worth.