The First Show Always Sucks (Just Kidding)

[Dustin Smith]

The First Show Always Sucks (Just Kidding)

The show has a cold opening, this is the first video posted to the NWA Guerrilla channel on Youtube! It starts with former NWA Maximum champion Dean Ambrose in the backstage area.

Ambrose: It's crazy to think that less than a week ago I was a champion. I was a force to be reckoned with in NWA Maximum now I've been shipped down to the city of brotherly love. Ya know a lot of people would look at that as a down grade, but I'm not a lot of people. I dominated NWA Maximum and now I can do the same to NWA Guerrilla, I'm a bit of an addict I'll admit it. I'm addicted to being a champion, but after awhile of having it it doesn't get you as high as it used to. So now I'm here for a new fix a new challenge and a new championship! Tonight I have to wrestle not only Chris Hero but also Tyson Kidd, no title on the line but it doesn't matter this is just going to show you people what I already know, what NWA Maximum already knows! I'm the best damn wrestler in the industry today!

THREE WAY TAG TEAM MATCH
Bobby Fish & Alex Koslov vs. TMDK(Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) w/ Bobby Jo Marshall vs. The NEW Rockstars of Wrestling(John Morrison & Shiima Xion) w/ Lena Yada

This match was pure anarchy to start the show. The ref had such a hard time keeping the match sane which he just ended up letting go as bodies constantly flew in and out of the ring in a showcase of all six of these talented men. The Rockstars were the opportunists after TMDK clotheslined Fish and Koslov out of the ring, turning around into a pair of superkicks from Morrison and Xion that sent them out of the ring onto Fish and Koslov! The Rockstars kept the tempo up as they dived out of the ring in stereo onto the group of opponents on the outside! TMDK are the hardest hitters in this match and took the fight to the Rockstars at ringside with Nicholls hip tossing Xion into the first row of chairs! Fish would catch Nicholls with a stiff roundhouse before rolling him back into the ring where Fish and Koslov could not only isolate him but get the pinfall. Koslov would pick up Nicholls on his shoulders as Fish came off the top with a flying knee doomsday device style that flipped Nicholls in the air like a rag doll! Koslov went for the cover but the pin was broken up by the Rockstars who would assault Fish and Koslov. Shane Haste would come barrelling back into the ring with a chair blasting everyone with brutal chair shots having to put on the breaks almost braining his own partner with a chair shot! TMDK tried to grab Koslov trying to finish this grueling match one that's setting the REAL precident here in NWA Guerrilla! TMDK went for the Thunder Valley tandum finisher but only got a two count! Shane Haste couldn't believe it but was almost instantly blasted with a dropkick to the back of the head by Xion as Morrison came from the opposite side with a superkick variation to the seated Haste. Nicholls tried to run in to help his partner and took a superkick from Morrison that stunned him long enough for Xion to plant him with a snapmare driver! Morrison followed up with starship pain to give the NEW Rockstars the victory!

SINGLES MATCH
Tommy End vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

These two foriegn athletes came here to Philly to showcase their incredible talent. The match started with a nose to nose exchange of shit talk before Tommy End popped Sabre Jr. in the head with a brutal smack! Zack would answer right back with a shot of his own and it broke down into a smack fight that evolved into a brutal brawl with both men unloading punches that turned into forearm strikes! End would get the advantage whipping Sabre off the ropes, Sabre would duck a clothesline that would have taken his head off, putting on the brakes to drop End with a german suplex for a one count! End would try to get to his feet but Sabre Jr was all over him trying for a triangle choke but Tommy would power him up with a one armed powerbomb planting Sabre hard on the mat. End would stalk his opponent trying to take his head off with a spin kick to the head but Sabre would duck the kick hurling Tommy with a half and half suplex, trying to work his way into a cross armbreaker but End was too close to the ropes. Tommy End looked for solice in the corner but Zack was on him with a leaping enziguri that he followed up with a pair of running european uppercuts! Sabre went for the trifecta but ended up taking a kick to the side of the head from End that stopped his momentum cold! Tommy was on top of the match at this point planting Sabre with an ace cutter that he transitioned into a dragon sleeper but he couldn't get it sunk in. Zack would fight his way to the ropes keeping himself alive! The match reset itself with both men exchanging shots with one another this time Sabre came out better capping off his strike combination with a discus elbow! End was dazed and Sabre would take the opportunity to dead lift german suplex End for a two count! This left both men blown up in the middle of the ring gasping for air as they pulled each other to their feet, but Sabre would get a last second wind rolling End up into a cross armbreaker that he just couldn't escape being forced to submit or wind up with his arm getting absolutely ruined.

The show heads to the back once again as The NEW Rockstars with Lena Yada towel off looking worn out after the war in the opening contest. Joel Gertner asks the question, why the new partner? Why leave Rave and pick up Xion?

Morrison: Just like any good band the faces may change, but the quality still rocks! Just like Journey we brought in some incredible Filipino talent! Now shut up, sit back and enjoy the NEW Rockstars of Wrestling!

FATAL FOUR WAY MATCH
Jason "The Gift" Kincaid vs. "The Whole Foxin' Show" AR Fox vs. Shane Strickland vs. Jonathan Gresham

Strickland and Kincaid would pair off as AR Fox and Jonathan Gresham would pair off on the other side of the ring. It was a sight to behold as both pairings would chain wrestle with AR Fox and Kincaid getting the best of their respective battles and Fox would immediatly hit a hurricanrana driver on Kincaid planting him in the middle of the ring! Strickland and Gresham would kick him in the midsection and back at the same time before tossing him out of the ring. Strickland would try to do the same to Gresham but Kincaid would double clothesline them out of the ring where he'd take to the sky with a front flip over the top onto all three opponents! The crowd went wild until AR Fox broke away from the pack hitting an implosion 630 to the outside sending everyone to the ground again! Gresham wanted to get in on the leaping action but was cut off from a springboard moonsault by Strickland who cracked him with a leaping kick! Strickland would fight with Gresham on the apron finally lifting him for a suplex dumping him onto Kincaid and Fox! Strickland would wait a moment and hit a springboard moonsault once everyone got to their feet, he'd even land on his own feet in dramatic fashion getting patted by the crowd lining the entry way! Strickland was a happy guy rolling Gresham into the ring trying to set up for the double stomp off the top rope but was shoved off by AR Fox and Kincaid sending him to crash and burn! Kincaid and Fox would fight each other on their way to the top rope where Jason looked to have the match in hand but Fox would fight back using Lo Mein Pain off the top rope to take out Kincaid for the three count!

SINGLES MATCH
"Die Hard" Eddie Edwards vs. "The Messiah of the Backbreaker" Roderick Strong

These two men have battled many times all over the world and now they're in Philly wrestling each other under the NWA Guerrilla banner! The match started out with respect as both men wrestled a fantastic counter for counter match up. Edwards would start coming out on top and getting a little cocky which didn't set well with the nasty streak of Strong who started battering him with some of the most blistering chops in the business! Strong tried to hit a discus clothesline but Edwards would duck the swing, picking the leg of Strong trying for the achilles lock but Roddie would scramble like a mad man to the ropes. Edwards looked pleased with himself which only furthered to piss off Strong. Edwards and Strong tried for a test of strength but Roddie would try to cheat only to get Eddie to unload on him with punishing strikes before wrenching him up for a falcons arrow but Roddie would counter and blast Edwards with a leaping knee that lead into a backbreaker clinic hosted by Strong! Everything that Edwards tried resulted in Strong countering or transitioning into some sort of backbreaker! It was a brutal and eye opening display of how much Strong has mastered that corner of the art. Strong would try to follow up with the Stronghold but Edwards would fight with everything knowing that he would have to submit after all of this punishment. Edwards dug down deep pulling out a codebreaker out of no where leaning back into the corner. Strong would come in and the two would exchange shots but Edwards came out on top working Strong into a backpack stunner for a two count. Edwards tried to finish the match with the Diehard brainbuster but Strong would fight out using the sick kick to put Edwards down on the mat where he tried for the Stronghold again but Edwards would fight out yet again! Edwards came out with a huge belly to back suplex into a face buster that stunned Strong long enough for Edwards to finally nail the Diehard brainbuster to score the pinfall.

THREE WAY MATCH
"The Lunatic Fringe" Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Hero vs. Tyson Kidd

The main event of this incredible evening of action was capped off with the former champion of NWA Maximum, Dean Ambrose facing off in a three way with two world warriors in Hero and Kidd. Ambrose, Hero and Kidd would try to tie up in a three way test of strength but Hero and Ambrose would both turn and blast Kidd out of the ring leaving Hero and Ambrose to duke it out in the ring. Ambrose would get in close firing off heavy hands on Hero but got shoved away. Dean is a stubborn guy that ended up getting kicked in the head when he tried rushing right back at Hero. Chris looked dominate until he got hit with a springboard dropkick from Kidd who brought himself back into the match with a big impact, immediatly sliding in peppering Ambrose with punches. Hero would get up kicking away at Kidd not so much saving Ambrose from a beating but getting revenge from the dropkick. Hero and Kidd would put on an incredible display of catch can wrestling but Ambrose would inject himself with a crossbody but Kidd and Hero would roll through holding onto Dean giving him a knee to the gut and face viciously! Hero would immediatly turn and last Kidd with a knock out elbow strike but could only get a two count as the lunatic fringe broke up the pinfall. Ambrose would slide out of the ring bridging a table across from the apron of the ring to the security railing making a dangerous situation as Kidd and Hero battle in the ring. Kidd would duck a KO elbow from Hero but got kicked out of the ring catching himself on the apron. Hero would try to follow up hitting a KO elbow trying to follow up with a suplex but Kidd would wiggle free pushing Hero off before pulling him in an O'Connor roll for a long two count. Ambrose would sneak attack Kidd trying to powerbomb him out of the ring but Kidd would counter with a hurrincanrana for a long two count before Ambrose kicked out! Hero would come back into the fray with a huge elbow trying again to put Kidd through the table but Kidd would fight for his life on the apron hitting a leaping enziguri but he didn't see Ambrose on the top rope! Dean would catch Kidd with the flying elbow sending both men crashing through the table! It was a scene of wood, steel and bloody human flesh as the crowd went wild! Even Hero couldn't believe what just happened, but he'd try to capitalize just the same rolling Ambrose into the ring but couldn't get the pin, so he'd hold him down battering him with heavy hands. Hero tried to pull Ambrose to his feet looking for the KO elbow but Ambrose would duck the shot and come back with dirty deeds, but he couldn't put Hero away! Ambrose would brace himself in the corner using the finger gun point on Hero who was trying to get to his feet but ended up taking a Boma Ye from Ambrose that was finally enough to put him down!

[maximum]

This was a great show man, much more like the standard you usually set. You've got a good roster building as was evident by the really enjoyable Strong/Edwards match and the great main event three way encounter. Glad to see Ambrose being used well as he wasn't really going places in NWA Maximum and I know you'll make better use of him. Also as a final note I'm intrigued by the New Rockstars of Wrestling pairing, if only because now that Rave is gone from the duo they don't have any of their original members now, but you addressed that with the post match promo so its fair enough i think.

[jp1985]

Definitely more in line with what you can do than shows #1 & 2. If the name were left blank, I'd swear this was written by joe from the style and talent used (which is not a knock in any way since his stuff was good, just a sign of how different in approach is it from the format you did with NWA East last Fall.) Hard to find a fault in the match writing anywhere on this. Good descriptive job to setup the finishes. I would say though as a minor issue for me, not a fan of so many multi man matches without it being some sort of gimmick to the show. With only 5 matches, having 3 be 3 ways or greater really waters down the concept for me that by the time the main event hits, the fact it is a 3 way doesn't add anything. Again, it's minor since this is just the first real show and it's not like the fan is going to be heavily invested into the outcome yet.

NWA Maximum's loss is your gain. Hopefully this is the start of something for Ambrose and some stability. He can be a modern day Roddy Piper if given the time and chance to excel. As seen with Maximum, just getting the title was not enough, so I think patience is part of it too since it requires making opponents mean something as well rather than just throwing him into the best match possible each week and running out of meaningful opponents by show 5 (which is not to say Maximum burned through opponents for him, more just a case of too much else going on and wanting to do other things it seemed.)

Even though Rockstars got the win, hoping to see TMDK break out here as they have far more potential to me. I get that the name 'Rockstars of Wrestling' has history here, but after that weak finish to their Tag Team championship run last year, and a few failed returns since, I would just start fresh name wise and go with something else if using a new tag team partner anyway. But also not like it makes a difference as it wouldn't take long to erase that stigma.

Really like the attention to a lighter and quicker pace on your roster with the undercard. Matches #2 and 3 really make this stand out as something different from anything else out there. Like the use of Kincaid, even if he did lose, as he was the 1 guy I put over on the GFW show I did that wasn't a champion or on my own roster.

[Sean]

I may not be able to break my analysis down quite as much as jp and Maximum did but I really can't wait to see Ambrose take off. I can see him wearing the World title someday if he is built right by the right promotion. Let's face it, Styles is 38 years old and it's about time to start seeing the future in guys like Ambrose and the younger generation.

I also like the Rockstars although I wasn't around fo their previous run. I personally think they have potential to make some noise.