We’re off to Ireland for the first time in a while as we take a look at a coach vs. student match from Fight Factory…
We’re coming via stream for this gem from Fight Factory’s last show of 2024, from the eponymous Fight Factory in Dublin. It looks a lot less wooden than the Big Sean, that’s for sure…
Zozaya vs. LJ Cleary
LJ’s mobbed on his entrance – and while Zozaya’s got some fans, he’s very much playing second fiddle to LJ in front of this crowd.
Zozaya bullied LJ into the ropes to start us off, but Cleary doesn’t let that get to him as he sank in as ide headlock on the Spaniard… going right back to it after Zozaya pushed him away. A dropkick takes Zozaya down as he kept pushing off the side headlock, only for Zozaya to hit a shotgun dropkick at the second attempt.
Commentary brought up how Zozaya’s been in and around Fight Factory since 2019 – long before he even was a factor on Rev Pro’s roster – but he’s still waiting for his maiden singles win here… and the confidence from his forays elsewhere may be a little foolhardy here.
Cleary’s able to evade Zozaya in the corner, but he jarred his knee flipping into the ring… and Zozaya pounces right on it with a dropkick seconds later. That’s an opening that Zozaya wasn’t shy on following up on, as he worked a toe hold on the bad leg as LJ was laid in some forearms to the back to try and break the hold.
Eventually, Zozaya’s toe hold gets pushed off as he’s sent flying to the outside… and a kick through the ropes opened things up as a neck twist from LJ on the apron turned things back in his favour. Some scrapping on the floor looked to do some damage to Zozaya’s shoulder as we returned to the ring with LJ targeting that shoulder area with some elbows to the neck, along with some questionable tactics in the ropes.
Straight up punches to the neck of Zozaya looked to have an effect, with a frustrated LJ demanding the referee check for a submission as he torqued on Zozaya’s neck with a cravat. Breaking free, Zozaya tries to go back to the leg with kicks, but a cross-chop to the throat puts him right back down, before LJ finally got caught with a suplex after Zozaya had pushed him into the corner.
Zozaya manages to kick at LJ’s leg before a rolling thunder dropkick to the knee kept up the offence, leading to a springboard stomp to the back for a solid two-count. LJ’s chicanery was getting the crowd on his back – and conversely on Zozaya’s side as the match progressed… despite Zozaya going back to his aggressive start with kicks to the knee.
Zozaya abandons a Northern Lights suplex as he rolled out to hit an elbow drop to the knee before some shoulder charges in the corner ended with an enziguiri and a flurry of strikes from LJ. A floatover goes a little wonky, but Zozaya snapped back with the de Madrid al cielo death valley driver… but he can’t make the cover as the move served only to buy him some recovery time.
On the mat, Zozaya again pounds at LJ’s bad knee, before a trip up top was cut short with a gamengiri by LJ, hanging up the Spaniard in the ropes. LJ heads up to go for a superplex, and lands it after he baited Zozaya a little. The ante’s upped from there with Zozaya laying in a German suplex, before he charged into an LJ superkick that almost ended things going both ways.
A palm strike to the shoulder drops Zozaya again as the pair go tit for tat… but Zozaya’s able to counter a Boston crab attempt, only to eventually get caught with a wacky Destroyer – dubbed the Irish Goodbye – out of the corner that made commentary malfunction. Zozaya plays keepaway from there, rolling towards the ropes to avoid being pinned, but LJ just followed him onto the apron.
Except Zozaya’s played LJ like a fiddle, and after throwing him back inside, Zozaya headed up top to blast him with a missile dropkick for a near-fall… rolling into an ankle lock from the kick-out. LJ manages to cradle out in a furious stretch, working his way into a Lion Tamer for the quick submission. Bloody hell lads!
Result: LJ Cleary submitted Zozaya in 18:40 (****)
This was a fantastic twenty minutes or so of wrestling – starting off with Zozaya bullying his way around, but LJ matching Zozaya’s game plan somewhat turned the crowd on him. Both men throughout had their targets, but in the end Zozaya leaves still waiting for his first singles win in Fight Factory – and with a reminder that being on the rise doesn’t mean you’re there yet!