Another collection of Odds and Sods here, and we’re looking at four promotions we’ve never touched on this site before… one of which, we probably never will afterwards!
Tiger Ali vs. Kenny Omega
We’re going to Swindon in January 2017, and a match that on paper will make you go “how the bloody hell did that happen?”. Originally billed as Cody Rhodes vs. Tiger Ali, Cody dropped out for personal reasons (attending the funeral of a fan), so we had a replacement… Quite a massive one too, as Kenny Omega – barely two weeks removed from his WrestleKingdom 11 show-stealer with Kazuchika Okada – made his way to Swindon. It wasn’t his first time here for 4FW, as he’d beaten Mark Haskins for their Junior Heavyweight title a year earlier (before vacating it…)
Needless to say, the crowd were rabid for this one, and it didn’t seem like were were getting shtick-heavy Omega here as he’s not out in anything that even signified the Bullet Club. The crowd eagerly chanted that he was “the best in the world” like they were at the darts or something. Needless to say, all this didn’t impress Ali, nor his running buddies in the 3 Kings, RJ Singh and Rishi Ghosh (yes, the same two).
There’s plenty of arm wringers early as both men were feeling the other out, with Omega sending Ali scurrying to the outside. Back inside, Ali takes a big chop as Kenny looked to be on a comfortable road, at least until Ali hit a drop toe hold ahead of a square-off that saw Kenny tease wiping his rear end with Ali’s Iranian flag… and then reminding him that everyone equal. Fair enough…
Except Tiger didn’t take kindly to being told he wasn’t above anyone, and that was the cue for him to burst into life with a series of back elbows before running into a ‘rana from Omega. That was the cue for Ali to head outside as Kenny teased the Terminator dive, but Rishi tripped him before RJ helped throw Omega into the guard railings, much to the crowd’s annoyance. Tiger then used the opportunity to go airborne, hitting a flip tope into the aisle on Omega, giving him a bit of an advantage as he pounded on Kenny in the ring, before connecting with a slingshot senton back inside for a near-fall. Ali continues the beatdown with some Mongolian chops to Omega’s neck, then a suplex as the reigning (but not defending) 4FW champion picked up a near-fall.
We moved from there to a nerve hold, which Kenny powered up from, only to get sent straight back down with a knee to the gut as Ali was in firm control. Kenny thought he’d powered out of a sleeperhold, but Ali just puts it straight back on, only to get charged into the corner before Kenny squashes him on his back to finally break free as the comeback started in earnest.
Omega picks up Ali for the Finlay roll, but he needs time to steady himself before the moonsault gets a near-fall, and the same again as a pumphandle backbreaker nearly earned the Cleaner the win. Ali tried to sneak back in with a superkick, but it’s blocked and met with some chops instead, before a low dropkick set Ali back on track. A swift knee to the head gets Kenny free once more as he rushes in with a V-trigger to knock Ali down, followed by a Dr. Wily Bomb as Ali blocked a Dragon suplex. Instead, Kenny teases a One Winged Angel, but Ali counters out and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb instead as the momentum swung back towards the champion.
Shrugging off an exchange of right hands, Ali heads up for a superplex, but instead gets knocked down as he wiped out referee Steve Lynskey in the process… and there’s the cue for interference. RJ Singh tries… and gets thrown out. Rishi’s next, but he eats a dropkick before Ali slides in with a clothesline as the 3 Kings blind Kenny with the Iranian flag for an Ali superkick.
Stupidly though, Ali goes for the cover despite the referee still being down, so he breaks his visual pin and looks to do something onto the flag… but Kenny grabs it and repeatedly crotches Ali with it, sending him flying comically high into the air. From there, it’s the matter of a Kotaro Krusher and a Dragon suplex as Kenny’s back in the driver’s seat, before another V-trigger’s countered with a snap German suplex and a superkick for another two-count for Ali.
Since Tiger Ali’s from that part of the world, of course he has to try to do a camel clutch… but Omega makes it to the ropes, and sparks another series of back-and-forth strikes, ending with another V-trigger and a reverse ‘rana as Ali again avoided the One Winged Angel. Another V-trigger, another two-count, and then there’s more interference as RJ sprays water in Kenny’s eyes, leading to a two-count off a schoolboy roll-up.
A brainbuster follows as Ali almost snatched the upset, and that frustration seemed to force him to go for his flag… to no avail though, as Omega manages to sneak in a One Winged Angel, and that’s plenty enough for the win! This wasn’t Kenny’s A-game, but given the circumstances – facing the promotion’s champion at short notice – this had to be a competitive contest given his recent exploits… and the fact that he wasn’t sticking around afterwards. For those who’ve not seen Tiger Ali, such as myself, you’ll be shocked at this, as this wasn’t entirely a match made on Omega’s back. ****
Darius Carter vs. Flip Gordon
We’re off to a cross-promoted show between Tier 1 and LDN Wrestling from August 2013. We’re in what looks like a sparsely-populated theatre in Queens, New York for this, as Darius Carter looks to legitimately win the LDN title (to go with some stolen belts he’s wearing to the ring).
For those wondering “where have I heard that name before”, this was barely 48 hours after Carter wrestled Pete Dunne in a match where he busted open Dunne and sent the PROGRESS crew into meltdown as they were forced to rebook their entire US weekender in a matter of hours. This is up on Powerbomb, and for some reason, the US-based crowd isn’t entirely infatuated with the British holiday camp style of ring announcing. Like asking Carter out loud to “show the crowd some respect”, or repeatedly trying to start chants of “Flip” for the champion… I’m getting throwbacks to that All Star show I watched in Sunderland. In 2001.
Of course, Flip, erm, flips early on, as he keeps Carter on the mat, but the small ring means it’s pretty easy to back into the ropes to force a break. Oh God, the ring announcer’s trying to egg on the crowd with chants of “fight!”… for some reason the commentator seems to think that LDN is being broadcast on Sky Sports, which I don’t think the WWE deal would allow?
Anyway, Flip pulls off his see-saw kip-ups as Sanjay wants to hear his voice again, before faking out a dive as Carter cowered on the outside. Back inside, Carter stomped away on Gordon as… yes, he loves his voice, does ol’ Bagga. Carter gets a couple of one-counts from suplexes before he chokes away on Gordon using his own shin, then grabs a sleeperhold as he drags Gordon down to the mat.
The crowd’s slowly getting bored of being egged on, but it seemed to work as Gordon hits a springboard slingblade to take Carter into the corner. Gordon looked to finish off with something off the top, but Carter kicks the ropes to crotch Flip, and capitalises with a draping DDT out of the corner for a near-fall. Carter looked for a lungblower, but was blocked as Gordon goes for a Fireman’s carry… and that leads to a ref bump as Gordon spun around, accidentally knocking down the ref with Carter’s legs.
Our omnipresent ring announcer wanders in to check on the ref, while Carter heads off to the table to grab the title belt. Why doesn’t Sanjay get on the microphone to warn Flip? Nevermind, Gordon superkicks the belt into Carter’s face, before hitting a rolling death valley driver. Gordon can’t make the pin, so he heads up top again, but he’s now distracted by Crusher Curtis in the crowd…
Nobody seemed to know who Curtis was, but he stays at ringside as Flip gets more chants started for him. A Pedigree’s only good for a two-count from Carter, as Gordon hits some chops, before Curtis gets involved to distract Gordon… and Flip turns around into a lungblower as Darius gets the win. The match was alright for what it was, but the overall presentation of this, from the commentary, to the always-present ring announcer is a huge turn-off for me. **¾
WCPW Championship: Jordan Devlin vs. Ricky Combat vs. Will Ospreay vs. Joe Hendry (c)
We’re off to one of Ireland’s smaller promotions here, in the form of Celtic Championship Wrestling, and their July 2017 show, “Super Lariato Brothers”. This being a WCPW title match in another promotion, the result is really foreshadowed, but let’s see what the match is like.
Having watched the rest of the show, this is one of those “adult promotions” that makes full use of that tag. In other words, they’re not afraid to swear… which might be why this was never released by WCPW, unlike some of their other travelling title matches?
Hendry instantly powders to the outside as the ring becomes the Will Ospreay show for a spell, flipping around Devlin and Combat before we get the missed dropkick spot. That doesn’t sit well with Hendry, who chews out Ospreay before he’s dived on… back inside, Ospreay’s propelled with a back body drop from Ricky before Hendry drags him outside and into the guard railings… and I have to say, this cameraman and producer combo is missing a LOT of spots.
Inside, Hendry and Devlin seem to join up to double-team Combat, with Devlin dispatching a returning Ospreay with a forearm off-camera. That leads to dissension between Hendry and Devlin as the play the “hey, it’s my pin” game, just in time for Ospreay to return for a springboard overhead kick to the pair of them! Ospreay flies some more with a ‘rana to Hendry before superkicking Devlin to the mat… but the flippy stuff ends brutally when Hendry knocks Ospreay off the roped and down to the floor. Devlin shows he’s not one to be outdone as he hits a moonsault, before Combat’s tope completes the set… but hey, Will throws in another dive, because why not Sasuke special when you can?!
Commentary drops in a nice bit of unintentional foreshadowing as they heralded a “defiant” Ospreay as everything seemed to build to a tower of doom, but Ospreay’s handspring overhead kick into the corner delays that as Combat and Devlin are left tied up for a leaping ‘rana/spider German combo. Bloody hell, there’s a lot of impressive stuff being thrown around here…
Combat tries to steal some pins, but Joe Hendry hits him with a low blow… then Ospreay, and finally Devlin… but of course, the trio get instant receipts with low blows and superkicks before they roundhouse each other to the mat. It’s Combat who gets back up first as he drops Devlin with a lariat, but Jordan’s back to cause trouble with a Spanish fly to Ospreay… who seemingly lands on his feet before delivering a standing one of his own to the Irishman!
Ospreay comes back with his double moonsault/standing shooting star combo as he rattles through his greatest hits. In the meantime, commentary threw shade at another Irish group, OTT, saying that the fans watching this are “getting an education in Irish wrestling”. What, in a match featuring an OTT stalwart and two imports? Now that’s what I call petty! Combat and Ospreay trade shots, but it leads to an Angle Slam from Combat, before Ospreay flips out of a Go To Sleep, then follows in with the OsCutter… only for Hendry to rush in, throw Will out and steal the pin. That felt like such a letdown… I get Hendry as the heel, but save for the token “I don’t have to start in a four way” and other chickenshit stuff, this did nothing for him. As for the rest of the match, well, it was spectacular in places, but it never really kicked into a higher gear outside of those “greatest hits” moments. ***¼
If you’re watching this show on Highspots, your next match is Bram vs. Lewis Girvan, featuring a vertically-shot Bram promo that’s full of your favourite Father Ted/Irish stereotypes. You’ll be shocked that his promo meandered badly, like he had to do it in his first tape and send it off without playing it back.
Alexander James vs. Fred Yehi
We’re at NOVA Pro’s Such Great Heights show in Annandale, VA for this one – it’s up on Powerbomb.tv if you’ve got the subscription… the first thing that hits me here is the blue-and-yellow ring, a massive step change from the usual blacks and reds that pervade wrestling.
James has some different music to the last time I saw him, and he’s got quite the legion of fans, with one in particular being really vocal. Fred Yehi, on the other hand, has the same song he’s always had, and he starts by instantly tripping James as the pair looked for an early submission.
James takes a break outside to try and get under Yehi’s skin, but perhaps playing Yehi’s own stompy games wasn’t such a good idea, as Yehi throws a few in, and a double-stomp to the gut to truly leave AJ on the defensive. Chops follow, but James manages to break through, stomping through Yehi’s arm before throwing him into the ringpost as the Prince of Pro tried to neutralise that stompy offence.
Instead, James tries to wear down Yehi with a modified hammerlock, before tying Yehi’s arm in the ropes, presumably as a set-up for the Coat of Arms down the line. James has a penchant for stealing a fan’s water, with Yehi wise to it as he throws a couple of forearms before James can spray him, but it doesn’t stop another armbar attempt as Yehi’s forced to cling on.
A comeback from Yehi’s quickly stopped as James keeps going to the arm, and swiftly drags him to the mat with a hammerlock DDT as he floated into the Coat of Arms… but Yehi gets up and throws a German suplex to free himself! Chops and Mongolian chops get Yehi ahead, before he goes back to the stomps, nearly winning with a double stomp to the back, then again with a snap Dragon suplex!
However, that arm remains a target as James goes back to the worn-down limb, before Yehi almost won by sitting on a wheelbarrow attempt. A Koji clutch puts even more pressure on James, but for some reason Yehi floats over and puts him nearer to the ropes, before turning it into a Gedo clutch for a near-fall. Yehi looked to capitalise on that, but he’s eventually caught with a massive back elbow from James before a hammerlock DDT planted Yehi for the upset! A really solid match here, with James having the game plan of working on the arm and he stuck to it. ***½
That wraps up another batch of “Odds and Sods” – if there’s anything you think we should take a look at in this little vacuum, hit us up via that Contact form!