A four-way ladder match headlined NGW’s first TV show of 2017.
The ongoing storyline was that Gen-X champion Matt Myers had to defend his title before challenging Nathan Cruz for the NGW title.
There’s a video package at the start of the show with Nathan Cruz and Matt Myers, recounting their childhood (where they once painted-up as nWo and Wolfpack Sting), and then we crash to the show-opening titles.
After the usual shots of Stevie Aaron geeing up the crowd, we’ve got a sit-down promo with Gilligan Gordon who’s recounting the upcoming Gen-X ladder match, and how his client Wild Boar’s found himself on the wrong end of things as he’s taken falls against Matt Myers and Bubblegum. This was a really good, dramatic promo from Gordon, but for me it served to build up the match rather than Wild Boar.
Next up, another sit-down promo with Chardonnay (for Bubblegum). This seemed to be a parody of the “dumb blonde”, complete with Chardonnay screwing up the name of the show “D-Generation X”, then “C-Generation X” before finally calling it Regeneration X (a name which I don’t think was tagged to the show on TV).
Matt Myers gets his promo next, where he lays out that the usual Gen-X time limit is off the table, before going through some usual babyface lines. It’s not quite white meat, but it’s not too far off.
Ladder Match for NGW Gen-X Championship: Bubblegum vs. Robbie X vs. “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman vs. Matt Myers (c)
At the top of the ladder is the contract for the NGW title shot, but we take our time as the one carryover from Gen-X rules leads to some stalling as Bubblegum refused to put his hand on a turnbuckle for the clean start. Hitchman kinda made him do it… and we’re off!
Bubblegum takes some shots from Robbie X and Boar at the bell, before we were eventually left with Myers and Robbie who teased their finishers, and this looks to be a two-in, two-out kinda match early on. Boar lands a German suplex after teasing the package piledriver, before he leaps outside to go after Bubblegum, who has a ladder in his hand, and this takes us to a commercial break.
We return as all four men remain outside the ring, before Boar and Bubblegum work together to use the ladder to drop Robbie X on the floor. Myers, Boar and Bubblegum have a tug of war with the ladder, which ends badly for Bubblegum, but he recovers to double stomp the ladder in the ropes, which see-saws into the face of the Boar. Thankfully, we don’t get the Joey Mercury facebuster here.
The ladder comes in again as Bubblegum shoves Robbie into the corner, before Boar sends Myers into the ring post as he looks to keep the champion down. A powerbomb onto the ladder is attempted, but blocked as Robbie tries to give Bubblegum a German suplex onto the ladder, eventually settling for a big back body drop onto a propped-up ladder. Boar immediately spears Robbie as he went for a ladder, but Myers rolls back in to kick away at the Boar, landing a diving dropkick before Robbie X lands a roundhouse enziguiri. A dropkick follows to Bubblegum, but the Mancunian fires back in kind, only for Boar to reply with a series of cannonballs to Robbie and Bubblegum.
A pop-up powerbomb from the Boar leaves Myers lying, but Chardonnay decides to get involved as Boar climbs the ladder. Apparently he’s been infatuated with her in the past, but Boar shrugs it off, only for Bubblegum to shove the Boar down to the mat. Bubblegum drills the ladder into Robbie, then Myers, before another double stomp misses as Bubblegum tried to decapitate Myers on a ladder. Myers lands a superkick to Bubblegum who lands onto a ladder, before a Myers springboard moonsault adds more pain. Robbie X and Myers climb the ladder next, but Boar again shoves the ladder down, sending Robbie careering to the floor… then looks to charge a ladder into Myers. Boar misses, but manages to avoid an avalanche onto the ladder, before spearing Myers into that same ladder in the corner.
Bubblegum rushes in to dropkick Boar into the ladder, then Robbie X hits the X-Express (springboard Ace cutter, or the OsCutter if you want a name you’re more familiar with), only for Gilligan Gordan to come in and set up a ladder to help his charge. Charddonay climbs up the ladder though, but Gordon drags her down… and earns himself a hard kick to the groin. Boar grabs Chardonnay’s ankle as she’s climbing as we go to a tension-sapping commercial break. We return as Boar pulls her down off the ladder, but he snaps and tries to give her the Trapper Keeper (package piledriver)… but Bubblegum makes the save and snaps back with an Ice Cream Headache (Pedigree). Myers rushes in with the Myers Stunner on Bubblegum, which leaves him the last man standing to climb the ladder.
Myers has his fingers on the contract just as Robbie X pulls him down and scales the ladder himself… but Myers returns the favour and pulls him down into a Stunner. Again Myers goes up, but it’s Bubblegum who cuts him off… but Bubblegum spends too much time posturing for Chardonnay, and Myers returns to finally knock him down before grabbing the contract. A really solid ladder match – obviously a lot more toned-down than the crazy ladder matches of days gone by, but a worthy match for what was the main event of this NGW show. ***½
Alex Shane on commentary afterwards mentions that Myers will get his title shot at the end of the season – so NGW’s blending two cards together this season, with December’s Eternal Glory providing the content for the second half of season 4? Speaking of that title shot, Nathan Cruz and his fancy waistcoat appeared on stage as Cruz and Myers went face to face, raising title belts, contracts and trophies.
After Matt Myers celebrated, we were sent to a promo from Zack Gibson – who was speaking for the first time this season… but first, a recap of last season’s Control vs. NGW match, featuring Gibson tearing up that contract and walking out as the Control lost, erm, control of the company.
It’s a sit-down promo with Gibson, and he’s not been in NGW because he wants to be in the Davey Boy Smith Cup Tournament. I’m still not sold on that overly-long name… Zack wants to defend the cup, and takes credit for eliminating the Control… but stops short of making any specific demand for an opponent or anything like that. The show then crashes to an end with news that next week, we have the previously-hinted match with El Ligero & Liam Slater vs. Joseph Conners & Screwface; it’s the match where Conners leaves NGW if he loses… or Slater joins Conners’ crew if he loses.
All in, a solid show – as usual this season, I’ve got issues with the placing of things. As a fan, I’d rather my wrestling show ends with a triumphant wrestler celebrating, rather than ending cold on a promo, but it is what it is, I guess. A worthy hour of wrestling, and thankfully the show moves on to more recent content whilst keeping storylines ticking along… so a thumbs up there!