The finals of July’s Gift of GOOD tournament proved to be an absolute banger of a match – let’s take a look…
GOODstock was a “two show in one day” event from GOOD Wrestling, dominated by the Gift of GOOD tournament, with the winner getting a shot at the GOOD Wrestling Grand Prize. Oh, and a shiny orb.
The Gift Of Good Tournament – Final: Charli Evans vs. Mike Bird
Bird got to the final by beating Spike Trivet and Brendan White, while Charli Evans had to get past Rickey Shane Page and Shazza McKenzie…
Bird tries to start with a lock-up, but Charli’s got other ideas, sending him outside with a Saito suplex and a knee, following up with a dive. It seems Charli’s not wanting this to go long! Back in the ring, a pop-up powerbomb gets her a two-count, as she proceeded to keep up on Bird with a face-washing boot as those two-counts were quickly stacking up. Kicks to the leg keep Bird on the back foot, before Charli tried to clip his wings with an armbar that forced his shoulders to the mat. Yup, two-count. Heck, the entire left hand side of Bird was being targeted here, as kicks and chops left him in the corner, before he rebounded with a leaping lariat and a dropkick to turn the tables.
An Exploder suplex hurls Charli across the ring, as Bird had to negotiate the low ceiling to fly in with a swandive headbutt for a two-count. Duelling forearms deck Evans, as she tries to come back in off the top with a crossbody… landing it with some force as Bird was once again on the defensive. At least until he found the mark with a chop. Forearms and chops go back and forth between the pair, until Evans scored with a Fisherman suplex for a two-count. Bird hooks the ropes as he responded with a chop, before a La Mistica into a Fujiwara armbar as Evans reared back on Bird in search of a submission… only for him to roll free and come straight back in with a fireman’s carry gutbuster.
After a clothesline, Bird looked to roll Evans into a Sharpshooter, sitting back on it… but a rope break frees Charli, who’s quickly back in with a suplex, as we’re back to the strikes. Forearm exchanges keep Bird on top, until Charli began to chop him silly… aided by him taking down the straps so she could get some clear shots in. Bird looks to go back to the Sharpshooter, but a small package was an able counter as Evans stayed in the game, landing a head kick before Bird had to grab the ropes to stay alive.
Out of nowhere, Bird counters a suplex with a nasty Rikishi driver, but Charli’s got plenty left in her to kick out with plenty of time left. Up go the straps… and down go the straps as Bird’s beginning to look peeved, as he looked to go for pinning attempts… but so did Charli as they looked to end it, only for Bird to hit a sit-out side slam for the win. Considering both had had two matches earlier in the day, this was a hell of a sprint as neither Charli nor Mike held back… and put on one of the best matches I’ve seen in a GOOD ring. ****¼
As a result of winning, Bird got the silver ball… but he’s not taking his title shot just yet, as he issued a challenge for Charli Evans to take the next show (who’ll face Beano on GOOD’s next show on September 21, thanks to Beano not being there to accept or reject it), while Bird will face Mike Bailey on the same show.
- Watch all of GOODstock, along with GOOD’s entire back catalogue, at https://goodwrestling.pivotshare.com/