We’re heading back to the States for a look at Daniel Makabe’s first match of 2023 – and one that could have seen him leave with some new hardware…
Based out of the Pacific North West, SOS has been helping fill the void left by the closure of 3-2-1 BATTLE! a few years ago. I’m not going to say I’ve been following them closely, but enough to “get” the storyline here – which saw the “Wrestling Genius” Daniel Makabe “banned” from SOS Wrestling… only to return as the “Wizard of Queen’s Park”, thanks to a rookie error from lead pain-in-the-ass Dante Smythe.
We’re live-on-tape from Edison Square in Tacoma, WA, with this one available on IWTV.live… and yes, I got early-day Peep Show vibes from some of the music they used early on.
SOS Championship: Daniel Makabe vs. Steve Migs (c)
You might have caught Migs on a recent episode of AEW Dark – back when a bunch of news sites accidentally called him “Steve Miz.” He’s a radio DJ in real life, but not really liked by this particular crowd… perhaps because he’s jumped on the light-up jacket bandwagon?
We’re dealing with Belgium Makabe here, who was wise to Migs’ shenanigans… which included him concealing some brass knuckles in his gear. The ref removes them, as we get going with Migs charging to the ropes to break a simple wristlock. Wash, rinse and repeat, as Makabe then took Migs down for an early crack at a cross armbar, only for Migs to break it in the ropes.
Makabe keeps Migs in the ropes for a chop, then for a front kick, before an armdrag takedown led to a crucifix pin for an early two-count. A chinbar from Makabe follows, before he stifled Migs’ cravat attempt by going for a bunch of pinning attempts… then a flash at the Makabe Lock after he’d blocked a neckbreaker.
Migs slithers back to the ropes to break the hold, so Makabe repositions him for perhaps the Makabe Lock Pi… but Migs rakes the eyes to break it up. Hitting the ropes, Makabe looks to catch Migs with a Big Unit punch, but it’s ducked as Migs lands a clothesline instead as he began to put the boots to Makabe. Cravat knees from Migs keep Makabe at bay, ahead of a cravat’d side Russian legsweep that nearly won the match.
A series of knee drops keep Migs ahead, as he then went to Makabe’s corner and paraded the Timothy Thatcher/RINGKAMPF scarf. It’s a bit like tugging on Supermans’ cape, it seems, but Makabe’s attempt at a Big Unit punch is blocked as Migs ends up using the scarf to pull Makabe into an Ego Boost DDT for a near-fall.
It’s back to the cravat knees for Migs, switching the hold around to the other side as Makabe went to block it. Eventually Makabe catches a knee, then went back to a wristlock as Migs begged off… while a stomp to the wrist from Makabe led to him staying down. The pair trade blows from there, with the yay/boo strikes seeing Makabe pull ahead… only for a headbutt to leave him open for some full nelsons.
Backing into the corner, Makabe is able to roll free and come back with a single-leg dropkick into the corner… then a Saito suplex that almost put Migs away. Hammer elbows to Migs’ neck looked to soften him up for the Makabe Lock Pi, but instead Makabe hammerlocks him for a levering armbar, forcing Migs to squirm back to the bottom rope to force the break.
Migs tried to fire back, catching a Big Unit punch as he instead Rolled the Dice for a near-fall, before Makabe again had to block a full nelson. The Name Dropper’s escaped as Makabe switched around and surprised Migs with a Euro clutch for a near-fall, with Makabe unable to hold the bridge. A slap from Makabe led to another corner dropkick… but this time it caught the referee behind Migs.
With no ref, Migs was able to pull out a second pair of brass knuckles… but Makabe avoids a punch and came in with an Octopus hold to remove the knucks. Migs retrieves his first pair from the referee, but Makabe avoids them and hits the Big Unit punch… just as the ref came to, only for a groggy count to lead to a near-fall. Another cross armbar from Makabe followed, but Migs manages to grab those brass knuckles, and punched Makabe in the balls with them as the referee was unsighted.
After the low blow, Migs goes back to the full nelson, and is able to hit the Name Dropper – a full nelson bomb – for the elementary win. A good “first match back” for Makabe, who had most of Migs’ shenanigans scouted, only for bad ref placement to play a part in his downfall.
Result: Steve Migs punned Daniel Makabe in 15:06 to retain the SOS Championship (***½)
This ended up being the background for a post-match bit that saw “Mig’s Number One Fan” come out and disavow any loyalty to Steve… before giving his “Golden Wilson” – SOS’ Money in the Bank-like gimmick – to Malcolm Phlex, who beat Migs with a shoulder tackle off the middle rope to win the title. All’s well that ends well, with Phlex ending Migs’ eight-month reign on “the Island.”