Views from the Hawke’s Nest: PWX Queen City Chaos 2012

5/5/12
Charlotte, NC

Anthony Henry vs. “Mr. Elite” Drew Meyers
This is my first time seeing either of these guys.

They did a lot mat wrestling at first, until Henry sent Meyers to the floor. Meyers got back in the ring, but Henry delivered a series of strikes to stay in control. Henry used a dropkick to send Meyers to the floor again. Henry went to the top rope and hit a plancha. Back in the ring, Meyers cut off Henry with an exploder suplex. The commentator said that his amateur background allowed Meyers to hit that exploder suplex. Ok. Meyers got the heat for a while after that. Henry made a comeback, which included a double stomp, and he then locked in a Texas Clover Leaf. Meyers made the ropes. Things almost broke down, but they seemed to have gotten it together in time for Henry to hit a snapmare driver and a sliding D for a pair of nearfalls. Meyers came back with a big boot for a nearfall of his own. Meyers went to the top rope, but Henry crotched him and hit an enzugiri. Henry went for a frog splash, but Meyers rolled out of the way. Meyers then hit a lariat and a bridging German suplex: 1…2…3

This was an OK opener. There were a couple of sloppy points, and the finish fell pretty flat (the rudo won clean with a rather standard move). Neither guy did much to stand out to me, but they kept the crowd invested throughout the match.
Match Rating: **1/4

Lancelot and Harlem Bravado talk about they get no respect. They say their deserve the PWX Tag titles. They want Chip Day and Corey Hollis in the finals because they’ve talked about their grandmother too much. These are great men.

PWX Tag Titles Tournament Semi-final
The Bravado Brothers (Lancelot and Harlem Bravado) vs. The Great Outdoors (Grizzly Redwood & Jake Manning)
Redwood and Manning were crazy over. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it myself. This is the first match I’ve seen of the Bravados since they came back from a three month stay at the NOAH dojo. I’ve heard that they have improved immensely.

Manning body slammed Harlem, and he then suplexed Grizzly onto Harlem. Harlem drove Grizzly into his corner and tagged in Lancelot. Harlem attacked Grizzly from the apron, which allowed Lancelot to give Grizzly a divorce court. The Bravados started to work over Grizzly (focusing on the left arm) after that. This went on for a while. Grizzly gave Harlem an enzugiri and then tagged in Manning. The Manscout ran wild on the Bravados; this was a great comeback. Harlem avoided a Best Moonsault Ever attempt from Manning. Lancelot hit a belly-to-belly on Manning for a nearfall. Lancelot hit a lariat for another nearfall. Grizzly hit a slingshot spear on Lancelot. Grizzly followed that with a super Thesz Press: 1…2…NO! The Bravados hit a 3-D on Grizzly: 1…2…NO! Harlem hit a Fisherman suplex on Grizzly for another nearfall. The Barvados then killed Grizzly with a combination of moves, but somehow Grizzly kicked out. The crowd didn’t really react. Manning pulled Lancelot to the outside and hit a suplex on the floor. It took three tries, but Grizzly managed to take down Harlem with a lariat. Harlem hit Grizzly with a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Grizzly again kicked out. Harlem then locked in the Yes Lock, and the crowd chanted “NO!” Grizzly made the ropes, as Manning sent Lancelot to the floor. Manning gave Harlem a big boot, and then the Outdoors Men hit a Doomsday Device Bulldog: 1…2…3

This match was good, as the Bravados have improved a lot and the Outdoors Men were incredibly over. They may have tried to do too much down the stretch though, as a lot of the nearfalls were seemingly ignored by the crowd. The Bravados are obviously the better team, but Manning and Grizzly were so over that I completely understand why they won.
Match Rating: **3/4

PWX Tag Titles Tournament Semi-final
John Skyler & Aaron Epic vs. Corey Hollis & Chip Day
A lot of underexposed talent in this ring.

Hollis and Day had a lot of success early on Skyler. Skyler drove Hollis into his corner and tagged in Epic. Epic and Hollis did a strike exchange that Hollis won. Skyler did a blind tag and hit a slingshot spear on Hollis. The rudos worked over Hollis for a while. Skyler hit a nice Airplane spin backbreaker. Roddy needs to steal that. Hollis hit a brainbuster on Epic out of nowhere. Day tagged in and made a comeback on Skyler. Day hit a soccer kick on Epic and then a tope con hello on Skyler. That wasn’t the smoothest sequence ever. Day hit a top rope cross-body for a nearfall. Epic and Skyler hit an assisted Sliced Bread #2 on Hollis, but Hollis came right back with a Trouble in Paradise on Epic. Hollis hit Sliced Bread #2 on Skyler, but Epic made the save. Lots of moves were traded. Epic and Skyler hit the Tornado-plex on Hollis: 1…2…NO! Epic accidentally took out Skyler with the Knockout Punch. Hollis and Day hit Epic with multiple kicks: 1…2…3!

This was another good match. The crowd wasn’t into this match as much as the previous semi-final, but the action was better (at least from my perspective).
Match Rating: **3/4

Mike Posey vs. Joey Janella
The commentator implies that this is a rudo vs. rudo matchup. Yay.

The crowd is predictably silent at the start. Nothing of much note happened until Posey low-bridged Janella to the floor. Posey seemed to be getting the advantage, but Janella just kicked a ring ropes into Posey’s crotch. Posey came back with a slingshot X-factor. Posey was in control after that. Janella kicked him in the balls to slow him down. Posey came back with a top rope legdrop: 1…2…3.

I knew we may have been in trouble when the commentator said that the crowd didn’t like either guy. It was worse than that though: they flat out didn’t care about either guy. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Mike Posey before, but he (and Janella) was not put in a position to succeed here.
Match Rating: ½*

We get footage from a previous PWX show where Circo cost Ernie Osiris a match. This lead to…

Circo vs. Ernie Osiris
Circo is a masked man. Osiris is best known for being a member of the Embassy in ROH for the better part of 4 years now.

Osisris runs into the ring, and they start brawling right away. Circo fell to the floor, and Osiris (kind of) hit a no-hands running plancha. Circo tossed Osiris into a ringpost to almost immediately cut him off. Circo followed that up with a suplex. Circo placed Osiris on a chair, and Circo then hit a rolling senton off the apron. I feel like this match is destined to have a shitty finish, It definitely feels like the middle chapter of a feud. Osiris tried for a slingshot plancha, but Circo caught him and drove Osiris into the ringpost and the apron. Back in the ring, Circo hit a froggy-bow for a nearfall. Osisris tried to come back with a Tidal Crush style move, but Circo caught him and drove him into the ringpost. Osiris came back with a jumping forearm smash and a rolling spear: 1…2…NO! Osiris hit a superkick for another nearfall. Osiris then hit a double jump top rope Phoenix legdrop (I think he was attempting Phoenix senton though): 1…2…3. They immediately cut away like the win wasn’t a big deal. That is some TNA-level stuff there.

These two tried to have a really intense brawl, but the lack of investment from the crowd brought the match down a couple of levels. Having said that, the action was good, and I definitely bought into the dislike displayed. Ernie Osiris showed more here than he has ever been allowed to in ROH.
Match Rating: **3/4

Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. vs. Zane Riley
I try not to judge books by their covers, but neither guy looked like much. I really hope I am proven wrong.

Nothing much of note happened early, but the crowd was more into this than the last match. There is no commentary for this match. I don’t know why. Riley hit a sidewalk slam for a nearfall, and Funk then took refuge on the floor. Funk got busted open somehow. I have no idea if it was hardway, or if he just randomly decided to blade. Commentary is back. Funk cut off Riley, and he started to get the heat. Riley hit an urinagi style move, which allowed him to make a comeback. Riley hit the worst cannonball splash that I have ever seen. Funk came back with a running Ace Crusher: 1…2…NO! Rock Bottom from Funk: 1…2…NO! Riley hit a Samoan Drop for a nearfall of his own. Funk hit a DDT and legdrop for a nearfall. This crowd has not cared about nearfalls all night long. Funk hit a diving elbow (kind of): 1…2…no. Riley got a small package out of nowhere: 1…2…3. The commentator explained that Funk was Riley’s mentor. Apparently these two used to be a tag team. This being explained at all would have been helpful.

This was not good, but the crowd enjoyed it much more than the last match. I don’t have a strong desire to see either of these two men again.
Match Rating: *1/2

PWX Tag Title Tournament Final
Chip Day & Corey Hollis vs. The Great Outdoors (Grizzly Redwood & Jake Manning)
Day and Manning start the match with a strike exchange. All four men were respectful at the start. Grizzly and Hollis tagged in. Grizzly got sent into the corner, and he suddenly started to sell his arm. The medical staff came out and took him to the back. Manning realized he had to wrestle the rest of the match by himself. Day dropped Manning on his head with a suplex. Day and Hollis started to work over Manning after that. Manning managed to take down both men with a wacky/convoluted spot. Crowd liked it though. Grizzly came back out, and Manning tagged out. Grizzly ran wild on Day and Hollis. All four men started trading moves until The Great Outdoors hit the Doomsday Device Bulldog on Day! The Bravado Brothers ran in though. Harlem managed to hit Manning with a protected chairshot. Day made the cover: 1…2…3. Day and Hollis are the first PWX tag champions in three years.

This was too overbooked for my liking. The Grizzly injury spot didn’t last long enough to really sink in or get fully invested in Manning as a sympathetic babyface. The Bravados interference seemed to fall flat. The crowd doesn’t like that the heels do bad things, but they really seem to just want to see their guys do well, as opposed to caring about hating the bad guys. The environment has not enhanced the show.
Match Rating: **1/2

Rhett Titus and Kenny King cut a promo in the back. I’m not really a big fan of Titus’s promos. Cedric Alexander and Caleb Konley say they want a fight.

All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. 7OH!4 (Cedric Alexander & Caleb Konley) [Grier Heights Street Fight]
King is not a PWX regular. This match was set up as a part of Cedric Alexander’s chase for Titus’s PWX championship. This show is pretty much riding on the main event.

Konley and Alexander rushed the ring to attack ANX. All four men ended up all over the arena right away. The action came back to the ring with the tecnicos in control. Titus started to bleed. Shocking. King took out Alexander on the outside, which allowed ANX to work over Konley in the ring. Alexander made it back to the ring, but Konley was damaged so much that Alexander was all alone and easy prey for ANX. ANX were in complete control. Konley powdered King, which caused King to accidentally hit Titus. The tecnicos made a big comeback using a Singapore Cane to kill them. Alexander brought a table in the ring. Joey Janella came out to help Titus, but he was easily dispatched of. Titus wiped out Konley and Alexander with a somersault plancha. ANX went for the powerbomb/blockbuster on Konley through the table, but the table didn’t break. That is the shits. King set up the table in the corner. Titus gave Konley a Border Toss onto the table, but again, it didn’t break. Alexander hit a sweet tornado DDT on King, which left Alexander and Titus as the only men standing. They both delivered some big strikes. Alexander gave Titus a brainbuster on the chair: 1…2…3.

That was a great effort from all four men. They went above and beyond to give the live crowd a great main event. The crowd wasn’t great for the match, but this is probably the one match on the show that overcame that fully.
Match Rating: ***1/2

The 411: The main event and the tag title tournament make up the majority of the show, and those four matches deliver for the most part. However, if you are really starved for tag team wrestling stateside, PWG, Chikara, and DGUSA are delivering way better tag action than this. This could not even be put in the same universe as those promotions. I got this as a $1.99 MP4 at Highspots during a sale, so I feel like I got my money's worth. Its regular MP4 price is $4.99 however, and I can't give a recommendation at that price. You could certainly spend your money worse though.

Final Score:  5.0   [ Not So Good ]