"Windy City On Tour" #14 - MAC Arena, Chicago, IL (09/03/14)
Mar 9, 2014 13:36:33 GMT -7
Post by steve on Mar 9, 2014 13:36:33 GMT -7
"Windy City On Tour" #14 - MAC Arena, Chicago, IL (09/03/14)
House Show Report by Smart Mark
Looked to be a decent turn-out as Windy City went on tour for the first time in a while with a card at the MAC Arena in downtown Chicago. I sat down with some cheesy nachos and a large coke and got my tablet out to make notes, surf craiglist, check-in on facebook and settle down the show.
1. The Only Way Is Beards (Knox & T-Bone) w/Jimmy Hart def. "Rock Hard" Dick Ryder & Jeffery "ohh-La-La" Flockhart with the Mutton Chops (T-Bone hit's a full nelson suplex and Knox immediately follows up with his Knox Out) in about 5 minutes.
T.O.W.I.S looked good and geared up for their tag titles shot here with a squash match victory. I kinda dug the team of Ryder and Flockhart though, their camp act has some promise given the right storyline and presentation.
*Dave Rayne came out with the Cyber TV Title of "John Doe's" around his waist and Jimmy Hart explained that since John Doe isn't here tonight, that Dave Rayne is looking after the belt for him and Dave Rayne will have a match tonight against the new kid on the block Ron Shen, but of course the title can't be on the line as John Doe is the champion and not him*
Dave Rayne continues his shtick with the Cyber TV Title and John Doe, this can have some mileage for Dave Rayne's act. Ron Shen I'm not too sold on yet but I was looking forward to seeing more of him and where this is going.
2. Ron Shen w/Steve Blackman def. Dave Rayne w/Jimmy Hart (non title match) via pinfall after a left high kick to the head in about ten minutes. Shen was dominant early but seemed hesitant and shy to finish which allowed Rayne back into the match but thanks to some encouragement from Blackman, Ron Shen prevailed and pulled out the big knockout with the kick from out of nowhere.
He seemed kinda shocked that he delivered such a brutal kick to score the three-count. Ron Shen is unpolished, but Steve Blackman seem's to be working on this diamond.
3. "The Italian Eagle" Mark Jindrak def. Bubblegum in about three minutes. The debutante Jindrak fresh from a spell as a big mega star in Mexico is back looking to make his mark in the states. He hit a high crossbody off the top and followed up with the Mark of Excellence (Back Suplex side slam) for the three count.
Jindrak looks to be a good big man who used well could make strides towards the top of Windy City cards but let's see if he can get over in Chicago, as although he's a superstar south of the border, last time he was in the states I was unconvinced.
4. "Big Daddy Cool" Kevin Nash def. L.A Gore with a Jacknife Powerbomb in under two minutes. Nash easily defeats the early 90s jobber with the standout handlebar stache that you might remember from the early RAW's. Post match Crash Test Dummy sneak attacks Nash with a missile drop-kick off the top rope but Nash doesn't move and CTD slides out of the ring and makes a hasty exit. CTD cracks me up, and the fans seem to love him here in Chicago. Nash didn't look amused but I'm sure he was struggling to cover up a snigger at one point.
5. Evan Bourne def. Noam Dar with the Air Bourne at aprox the 12 minute mark. This was a very good match that given more time could be excellent. The two challengers to the Zero Gravity Title of American Kickboxer 2 both showcased their talents and although Dar lost and Bourne won - both men came out of this with their stock increased. I would watch this match again.
6. Jack Swagger def. Kris Travis with the Patriot Lock via submission at around 7 minutes. Swagger and Travis who developed a rivalry in the 6-Pac challenge on the last Fight Night went at it here with Swagger and Travis having a competitive back and forwards match. In the end Swagger was too seasoned for Travis and he took advantage of a missed splash off the top rope from Travis to claim the win.
After the match Travis got the house mic and asked Swagger for another match, another chance to show him what he's got. Travis went to shake the hand of Jack Swagger but was promptly pushed on his backside by Swagger. Swagger said if he wants another match, he's got it. Looks like we might have a little veteran verses upstart rivarly here!
7. Carlito def. Rey Mysterio by Countout at around 6 minutes. This match seemed to cut short as Mysterio seemed to have his knee legit buckle. The finish came shortly after when Carlito struck Mysterio in the back of his leg a NFL type block tackle on the outside and slid back into the ring with Rey unable to make the count back into the ring. The question is now will Mysterio be in good enough shape to fulfill his Cyber TV Title challenge against "John Doe" in the Ladder match at Uncensored or will a replacement be needed to be sought as Mysterio's destroyed knee's let him down here.
8. "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen def. Rob Van Dam with the Steenalizer (Package fallaway powerbomb) in what was without doubt the match of the night, probably 16 or 17 minutes long. A superb mesh of styles as debutante Steen and RVD took the match down the avenue of hardcore and the ref gave them some leeway. I for one would like to see a re-match between these two at some point! Was a tremendous battle and Steen really showed some charisma and reminded me of a prime Terry Funk.
9. April Davids & Katy Lee Ray def. Paige & Awesome Kong when April Davids pinned Awesome Kong with a school-girl roll-up in around 6 minutes. I must admit I missed most of this match as I went to the toilet but the guy sat next to me in a Chris Masters T-Shirt said Paige and David's looked good but April's team took the come from behind victory here.
10. Chris Masters, CM Punk & Brian Cage def. Daniel Puder, Bully Ray & Randy Orton in the night's main-event in a huge star laden 6-man tag team bout when NWA Windy City Champion Chris Masters submitted Bully Ray with The Masterlock after 12 minutes of action. Was great to see CM Punk in action in Chicago and he was massively over with the fans of course. Puder and Masters continued their beef which will end with the big title match at Uncensored and Brian Cage and Randy Orton clashed on several occasions. They will compete in an NWA World Title 2nd round match on Fight Night, so their clashes excited the fans taste buds for that match!
House Show Report by Smart Mark
Looked to be a decent turn-out as Windy City went on tour for the first time in a while with a card at the MAC Arena in downtown Chicago. I sat down with some cheesy nachos and a large coke and got my tablet out to make notes, surf craiglist, check-in on facebook and settle down the show.
1. The Only Way Is Beards (Knox & T-Bone) w/Jimmy Hart def. "Rock Hard" Dick Ryder & Jeffery "ohh-La-La" Flockhart with the Mutton Chops (T-Bone hit's a full nelson suplex and Knox immediately follows up with his Knox Out) in about 5 minutes.
T.O.W.I.S looked good and geared up for their tag titles shot here with a squash match victory. I kinda dug the team of Ryder and Flockhart though, their camp act has some promise given the right storyline and presentation.
*Dave Rayne came out with the Cyber TV Title of "John Doe's" around his waist and Jimmy Hart explained that since John Doe isn't here tonight, that Dave Rayne is looking after the belt for him and Dave Rayne will have a match tonight against the new kid on the block Ron Shen, but of course the title can't be on the line as John Doe is the champion and not him*
Dave Rayne continues his shtick with the Cyber TV Title and John Doe, this can have some mileage for Dave Rayne's act. Ron Shen I'm not too sold on yet but I was looking forward to seeing more of him and where this is going.
2. Ron Shen w/Steve Blackman def. Dave Rayne w/Jimmy Hart (non title match) via pinfall after a left high kick to the head in about ten minutes. Shen was dominant early but seemed hesitant and shy to finish which allowed Rayne back into the match but thanks to some encouragement from Blackman, Ron Shen prevailed and pulled out the big knockout with the kick from out of nowhere.
He seemed kinda shocked that he delivered such a brutal kick to score the three-count. Ron Shen is unpolished, but Steve Blackman seem's to be working on this diamond.
3. "The Italian Eagle" Mark Jindrak def. Bubblegum in about three minutes. The debutante Jindrak fresh from a spell as a big mega star in Mexico is back looking to make his mark in the states. He hit a high crossbody off the top and followed up with the Mark of Excellence (Back Suplex side slam) for the three count.
Jindrak looks to be a good big man who used well could make strides towards the top of Windy City cards but let's see if he can get over in Chicago, as although he's a superstar south of the border, last time he was in the states I was unconvinced.
4. "Big Daddy Cool" Kevin Nash def. L.A Gore with a Jacknife Powerbomb in under two minutes. Nash easily defeats the early 90s jobber with the standout handlebar stache that you might remember from the early RAW's. Post match Crash Test Dummy sneak attacks Nash with a missile drop-kick off the top rope but Nash doesn't move and CTD slides out of the ring and makes a hasty exit. CTD cracks me up, and the fans seem to love him here in Chicago. Nash didn't look amused but I'm sure he was struggling to cover up a snigger at one point.
5. Evan Bourne def. Noam Dar with the Air Bourne at aprox the 12 minute mark. This was a very good match that given more time could be excellent. The two challengers to the Zero Gravity Title of American Kickboxer 2 both showcased their talents and although Dar lost and Bourne won - both men came out of this with their stock increased. I would watch this match again.
6. Jack Swagger def. Kris Travis with the Patriot Lock via submission at around 7 minutes. Swagger and Travis who developed a rivalry in the 6-Pac challenge on the last Fight Night went at it here with Swagger and Travis having a competitive back and forwards match. In the end Swagger was too seasoned for Travis and he took advantage of a missed splash off the top rope from Travis to claim the win.
After the match Travis got the house mic and asked Swagger for another match, another chance to show him what he's got. Travis went to shake the hand of Jack Swagger but was promptly pushed on his backside by Swagger. Swagger said if he wants another match, he's got it. Looks like we might have a little veteran verses upstart rivarly here!
7. Carlito def. Rey Mysterio by Countout at around 6 minutes. This match seemed to cut short as Mysterio seemed to have his knee legit buckle. The finish came shortly after when Carlito struck Mysterio in the back of his leg a NFL type block tackle on the outside and slid back into the ring with Rey unable to make the count back into the ring. The question is now will Mysterio be in good enough shape to fulfill his Cyber TV Title challenge against "John Doe" in the Ladder match at Uncensored or will a replacement be needed to be sought as Mysterio's destroyed knee's let him down here.
8. "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen def. Rob Van Dam with the Steenalizer (Package fallaway powerbomb) in what was without doubt the match of the night, probably 16 or 17 minutes long. A superb mesh of styles as debutante Steen and RVD took the match down the avenue of hardcore and the ref gave them some leeway. I for one would like to see a re-match between these two at some point! Was a tremendous battle and Steen really showed some charisma and reminded me of a prime Terry Funk.
9. April Davids & Katy Lee Ray def. Paige & Awesome Kong when April Davids pinned Awesome Kong with a school-girl roll-up in around 6 minutes. I must admit I missed most of this match as I went to the toilet but the guy sat next to me in a Chris Masters T-Shirt said Paige and David's looked good but April's team took the come from behind victory here.
10. Chris Masters, CM Punk & Brian Cage def. Daniel Puder, Bully Ray & Randy Orton in the night's main-event in a huge star laden 6-man tag team bout when NWA Windy City Champion Chris Masters submitted Bully Ray with The Masterlock after 12 minutes of action. Was great to see CM Punk in action in Chicago and he was massively over with the fans of course. Puder and Masters continued their beef which will end with the big title match at Uncensored and Brian Cage and Randy Orton clashed on several occasions. They will compete in an NWA World Title 2nd round match on Fight Night, so their clashes excited the fans taste buds for that match!
. Swagger is being used well and his rivalry with Travis is very intriguing. Mysterio can't even stay injury free in fantasy wrestling, the guy needs to quit while he's ahead perhaps. Steen/RVD was a fantastic matchup, and I also enjoyed the main event tag, a good showcase for all involved. 
