We’ve got more from FIGHT! Nation Wrestling, with the return of a tag team who’s been off the radar for a while.
The show opens with Josh Bodom doing a sit-down interview bemoaning his recent losing streak, including losses to Ryan Smile, Psycho Phillips and Gabriel Kidd. Bodom vows to return to form, by beating Mark Andrews and taking his spot in TNA… with all due respect, I’d say that Josh may be better off away from there!
First though, we’ve got a rematch from earlier in the series, as DND – Danny Duggan and Cieran Donnelly – return to take on Liquid Dreams, a team that’s been largely MIA since they lost the Lethal Lottery. We’ve got the usual sit-down promos that features DND dismissing Liquid Dreams by saying “we’ve never heard of them”.
Liquid Dreams (Jakey & Brucey) vs. DND (Danny Duggan & Cieran Donnelly)
DND get attacked before the opening bell as they play to the crowd – and show us just how low the netted ceiling is in this building, but DND reverse it and punch away at Liquid Dreams before whipping them into each other, and then dropkicking them to the outside.
An atomic drop and a dropkick takes down Jakey, before Brucey gets more of the same, as both of the boy band wrestlers get clotheslined to the floor. The heels get back into it by attacking Donnelly from behind, then throwing him into the ring apron. We get a handful of tag team heel tactics, with Jake attacking Donnelly in the ropes after Duggan had been baited into the ring.
Jakey tags in after a while, as he stomps away at Donnelly, before cutting off a possible tag by DND. Brucey spins around on one leg before kicking Donnelly in the corner, but this remains extremely one-sided as Jakey finds the time to cartwheel around the ring. There’s more heel work as Liquid Dreams bait Duggan into the ring once more, before Brucey clotheslines Donnelly for a near-fall.
Liquid Dreams do their leapfrog sequence for the hell of it, but a sunset flip from Donnelly almost steals the win… but yet again the heels drag Donnelly into their corner to keep this going. An enziguiri from Donnelly knocks down Brucey, and we go to break just as we see Jakey run in to prevent a hot tag.
Back from break and Danny Duggan makes the hot tag, but apparently the referee didn’t see it, so the heat on Donnelly must continue. Sigh. Our commentator loses his mind over how many tags the heels are making, and we go back to that leapfrog spot, but Donnelly leaps over the pair of them and finally made that hot tag.
Duggan lands a leg lariat to Jakey, then a knee-lift to Brucey and a Falcon arrow for a near-fall. Apparently Liquid Dreams are Russian again, as our commentator yet again calls them “Bruceski and Jakeski”, and the heel make a comeback with a double superkick to Duggan for another near-fall as Donnelly breaks up the pin.
Cieran Donnelly tags back in as DND land a Superman punch, then a superkick, as Bruce just about makes it in time to break up the pin. We almost get a ref bump, but instead Jakey gets thrown head-first into Brucey’s groin, before a schoolboy roll-up gets DND the win. This wasn’t particularly good – the heels had control for way too long and did precious little with it. A plodding affair with a “slip on a banana peel” finish that did nobody any favours. *½
We’re shown clips from last week’s show as Mark Haskins defended his FIGHT! Nation title over James Castle, and the subsequent post-match attack from Joseph Conners. That leads to a tag team match next week, with Castle and Conners taking on Doug Williams and Mark Haskins.
Our main event is next, and on paper, it looks really promising.
Josh Bodom vs. Mark Andrews
We go to a commercial break before they even lock up, which is annoying…
When the match actually starts, we see Bodom muscle down Andrews with a waistlock, before he shoves the Welshman into the corner. Bodom takes Andrews into the corner and grinds his forearm into his head, before a wristlock takedown puts Andrews on the mat. Andrews reverses it into a grounded headlock, but Bodom gets free with some headscissors that Andrews bridges up and headstands out of. Bodom rams him with a knee once more, before a series of armdrags take down Bodom. Josh rolls to the outside for a breather, and he’s joined out there by the international star, who flips back into the ring for… another armdrag takedown.
Bodom gets free by raking the eyes, then by kicking Andrews in the chest. Another kick gets Bodom a near-fall, as does a floatover suplex, before Andrews powers out of a camel clutch… only to fall into the path of a roundhouse kick. They go back to the outside where Bodom chops Andrews on the apron, before nailing a dropkick back in the ring.
Andrews reverses out of a sunset flip and dropkicks Bodom, before a back elbow and an enziguiri knocks him down. We get a wheelbarrow bulldog to take down Bodom, before Andrews’ floatover Northern Lights suplex and a standing moonsault gets him a two-count. Bodom backdrops Andrews onto the apron, then kicks him to the floor, where he follows up with a tope suicida.
Bodom runs back in for the lumbar check (powerbomb onto the knees), but that only gets him a two-count… so he goes for it again, but Andrews rolls him up for a near-fall and then runs into a superkick. Bodom tries for a suplex, but Andrews turns it into the stunner, and then follows with a reverse ‘rana and another standing shooting star press for the win.
Good stuff, as they kept it basic until it mattered – no throwaway moves, with the big guns being saved until it mattered. A debut win for Mark Andrews (at least on TV), but Josh Bodom’s future remains in doubt after another loss. ***
This was a nothing special show, with the opening tag match really hurting the rest of the episode. Next week, we’ve got that Doug Williams & Mark Haskins vs. Joseph Conners & James Castle main event, as it seems we’re treading water until we find out what happens next with Mark Haskins’ title… can they really go with Joseph Conners for a third time?