Pro Wrestling Chronicle

I returned home from vacation late on Friday and stayed out late at a band party on Saturday, passing up this weekend’s ROH TV tapings. Still, I couldn’t miss the latest Pro Wrestling Respect show where a Hero came to Burlington.

Yep, Chris Hero was in South Jersey, here to wrestle Pelle Primeau after Ricky Reyes – in storyline – refused to deal with him again and was subsequently suspended from this month’s show because of it. I briefly met Hero before the show as he was selling a wide array of merchandise, including the photo of him sitting in front of the Wrestling Superstar Virgil banner.

1. Mr. Ernesto Osiris defeated Lance Bravado after hitting a Blaze One rebounding off the ropes (slingshot suplex-style). Decent opener with both guys playing their heel and face roles well and the crowd supporting them. Bravado kicked out right after the three-count.

2. Elevation Lottery: Mike Sydal defeated Rob Wolf with a superkick. Sydal came out to the fast-paced portion of “Paradise City,” acting as if he was Ultimate Warrior. He was acting a lot more heelish here, taking a couple shortcuts and talking down to Wolf, even shouting out, “My brother’s Evan Bourne!” Not sure how the majority of the crowd felt about it as the heel-face dynamic has been reversed on previous shows. So Wolf, the angry working-class man with the shitty family, is a face now. Again, the match was decent.

3. Bobby & Derek Dempsey defeated Orange Cassidy & Marker Dillinger (w/ Leslie Butterscotch) after both Dempseys hit Orange with a tandem senton (Bobby holding Derek). Very fun match that the crowd was hot for, as the Dempseys and Orange are beloved characters. As is Leslie, who came out just before the match to a big pop and was very upset that Orange chose a different partner for this month. He still stuck around. Derek’s knee was injured and worked over. Bobby ferociously called for his brother to tag him and eventually got it. Toward the end, Derek was sent to the outside and clutched his knee. Leslie brought the ref’s attention to the injured man, allowing Cassidy to spit orange juice in Bobby’s face behind his back. He then locked on the Orange Squeeze, but then Leslie got on the apron, removed his pants to reveal his tights underneath, and asked for the tag. Orange asked him to leave because he was embarrassing him, giving the Dempseys the advantage to finish him off. Orange rejected Leslie after this and Leslie left the ring very sad. I love this act. Bobby remains undefeated.

4. Colby Godwin defeated Shane Hagadorn by disqualification following a kick to the groin. Godwin is the 6’5 guy from Alabama with seven years of experience. Hagadorn attacked his leg as he was getting into the ring, but Godwin overcame it and outmatched Hagadorn at times, leading Hagadorn to take a shortcut and end his winning streak.

- Hagadorn looked punish Godwin further with a chair post-match, but then out came Alex “Don’t Call Me Sugarfoot” Payne, back from NOAH. It looked like he was going to attack Hagadorn, but he shoved him aside and attacked Godwin. Then Andy Ridge ran out and chased off Payne and Hagadorn, saying they only showed disrespect. Hagadorn himself was surprised by Payne’s actions.

5. “Bonesaw” Jessie Brook & Mia Yim defeated Daizee Haze & “Jumping” Jamilia Craft when Brook hit Craft with a DDT. Basic tag match, too the point. Nothing too memorable outside of the loud support for Craft, but no complaints either. Brook is good at doing a mean glare.

- Intermission.

6. Grizzly Redwood & Professor Milo Shizo defeated Team WIN (Christian Merino & J-Red Pink) when Grizzly rolled up Merino. Team WIN were a lot more heelish here. Last month they made their entrance bursting through a banner. Today, they nonchalantly came through a banner reading “Burlington Sucks!” A basic but good tag match that included Grizzly and Shizo doing a doubleteam lariat using Shizo’s tail.

- Afterward, Merino and Pink shoved their purported rival, referee Alexander Bird. Apparently this was all Bird could stands and he could stands no more, so he shit apes and cleared house of the two, throwing his ref’s shirt at them afterward. Fans really liked this, and Grizzly and Shizo backed him up. So it looks like Bird will be wrestling now.

7. Chris Hero defeated Pelle Primeau by knockout thanks the golden elbow pad. Hagadorn came out with Hero at first but went to the back before the match started. Lots of back and forth action, with Hero getting the advantage with his strikes and Pelle getting the upper hand with some lucha offense that Hero sold for very well. The size difference was played up big time. Plenty of close calls in a match that lasted 15 minutes within its 20-minute time limit. There were even some moments where Hero trash talked Pelle as he did with Tyler Black (as discussed here). Overall, I enjoyed the hell out of this match.

- Hero strapped on his ROH World Tag Team Championship belt and looked to dish out more punishment after the match. Before he could deliver the Death Blow, Andy Ridge superkicked Hero and sent him packing. Then out came Celso Rivera to kick off the next match.

8. Celso Rivera defeated Andy “Right Leg” Ridge with the torture rack neckbreaker. No Sly Stetson this time. Fast paced action with some hot moves, and good stuff all around. Alex Payne walked out toward the end, taping his fist on the way. He provided a distraction to the ref so that Shane Hagadorn could run in and nail Ridge with an STO, leading to Rivera picking up the scraps.

9. Delirious (w/ Daizee Haze) defeated Harlem Bravado (w/ Lance Bravado) by making him pass out to the cobra clutch. At the first Respect show, he was introduced as “the Bizarre Magician.” Here, he was introduced as “the Unbalanced Virtuoso.” Harlem made the unfortunate choice to wear cornrows for this show, and Delirious joked about it a bit. Lots of back and forth action with Harlem holding his own. Delirious through the fedora of a front row fan into the ring early on, Harlem wore it, and Delirious claimed it was a foreign object. Harlem avoided a number of Delirious’ signature moves, including countering the cobra clutch suplex into a pin attempt a la Bret vs. Owen. Harlem hit the frog splash that won his Elevation Lottery match last month, but that was only a nearfall. The whole match lasted 18 minutes within its 20-minute time limit, and it was good stuff. As has been the custom for Pro Wrestling Respect, the show ends with “Candy Man” being played and candy being thrown to the crowd and offered as fans leave.

Overall: Maybe the strongest Pro Wrestling Respect show yet, largely thanks to the very good Hero-Pelle match. The top two matches were also good and there were plenty of good developments on the undercard, from Alex Payne coming back as an asshole to Alexander Bird going Shane Sewell. An especially fun afternoon for a low price.