Views from the Hawke’s Nest: CPW Strong Style Summit 2012

Metropolis, Il
May 18, 2012

Strong Style Summit Opening Round Match
Matt Cage vs. Joey O’Riley

Watch this match right here

Cage bailed to the floor early. Cage came back to the ring, and they started trading strikes. O’Riley hit a standing shooting star press for an early nearfall. O’Riley hit a diving cross-body for another nearfall, and Cage bailed to the floor again. O’Riley hit an Undertaker suicida! Cage ended up back in the ring. O’Riley went for slingshot DDT, but Cage blocked it. Cage finally cut him off with a high kick to the back of the head. Cage started to get the heat. Cage locked in a STF, but O’Riley managed to make the ropes. O’Riley came back with an enzugiri and a bulldog. O’Riley went for a handspring move, but Cage caught him and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb: 1…2…NO! Cage went for a Gibson Driver, but O’Riley reversed it into a hurricanrana. O’Riley then hit an inverted C4! O’Riley followed that with a buzzsaw kick and a handspring moonsault. O’Riley then hit a slingshot DDT! The commentator said that was his finisher. O’Riley set up for a running move, but Cage blocked it. O’Riley then hit the Skull Crushing Finale. They ended up on the ring apron, where Cage hit a backbreaker. Cage hit a sole butt and a lariat: 1…2…NO! Cage locked in a Coquina Clutch style submission. O’Riley stood out of it, but Cage brought him back to the mat with the clutch still locked in. O’Riley almost passed out, but he didn’t. O’Riley did the Hart/Austin Survivor Series 1996 rollup: 1…2…NO! Cage went for a TKO move (I think), but O’Riley avoided it and hit a discus Brogue Kick: 1…2…Foot on the ropes! Cage blocked another discus Brogue kick and hit a Tiger Driver: 1…2…3.

This was a really good match that hopefully didn’t burn out the crowd since they did a lot nearfalls for an opener. Joey O’Riley impressed the hell out of me here. I am very interested to see what he does in the future. I’m more familiar with Cage, so I already knew he was talented, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was hoping for O’Riley to win the match by the end.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Isaac Draven, Aaron XTC, & Number One Bob vs. Bull Bronson, Nick Ferrero, & Mikey McFinnegan
Bob wore a gold mask and a black body suit. XTC looks like Captain America before he was injected with steroids or whatever it was.

Draven dominated McFinnegan early. Ferrero tagged in. Draven tagged out to XTC. A lot of headlocks in the early goings of this match. Bronson tagged in and dominated XTC. Big weight different between these two. The rudos started to work over XTC. This went on for a while. XTC finally took McFinnegan with a leg lariat, but the rudos cut him right back off. XTC managed to escaped a rudo beatdown, but he didn’t tag out and instead went for a baseball slide. McFinnegan caught him and gave him a body slam on the apron. Ugh, I hate stupid tecnicos. XTC finally escaped again and tagged out to Bob. Bronson immediately dominated everyone in the match. Bronson gave Bob a big vertical suplex. Draven managed to tackle Bronson out of the ring. All six men were brawling on the floor. Ferrero and Bob went back to the ring, but they quickly went back to the floor. McFinnegan and XTC got back in the ring, and XTC got a small package: 1….2…3

This match did not work for me at all. The beatdown went on for far too long, and to say the payoff to said beatdown was not satisfying would be an understatement. The crowd didn’t seem to care too much by the end either.
Match Rating: 3/4*

Strong Style Summit Opening Round Match
Kyle Sykes vs. Alex Castle (w/ Angelus Layne)
Sykes sent Castle retreating to the floor early. Castle seemed to bury his face in Layne’s boobs for safety. They ended up on a ring apron, where Castle speared him. Castle started to get the heat after that. Castle was in complete control. Castle hit a big urinagi that caused Sykes to roll to the floor. Back in the ring, Sykes hit a couple of kicks. That got him a nearfall. Layne pulled her man to the outside, but Sykes then hit a slingshot plancha onto both of them. Back in the ring, Castle hit a Yakuza and a saito suplex: 1…2…NO! Sykes hit a bridging German suplex: 1…2…NO! Sykes called for a moonsault. Layne jumped up on the apron, but Sykes almost caused Castle to run into her (but he just accidentally grabbed her boobs). Sykes rolled up Castle: 1…2…3!

I enjoyed this match. I had never seen Sykes before, but he seems talented. I’m more familiar with Castle, and I would have liked to seen him advance but Sykes did enough to impress me so that I was OK with the decision when it was all said and done.
Match Rating: **1/2

Strong Style Summit Opening Round Match
Christian Rose vs. Billy Hills
I have never seen Hills before. He appears to be doing a farmer gimmick.

Rose was supposed to face Reed Bentley in this match, but Hills was a last-minute replacement. Hills overpowered him early. Hills sent him to the outside. Rose desperately avoided a couple of tope suicida attempts. Hills continued to dominate the match. He hit a double axe-handle off the apron. Back in the ring, Rose finally cut him off with a series of kicks. Rose started to get the heat. Hills came back and hit a big lariat: 1…2…NO! Rose hit a springboard dropkick: 1…2…NO! They traded some strikes. Hills hit a spinebuster. Hills then hit a Bubba Bomb. Hills went to the middle rope but he ate a discus forearm on the way down. Rose then hit a Falcon Arrow: 1…2…NO! What? Rose then hit a running kick to the face: 1…2…3.

Hills doesn’t look too impressive when you first see him, but I enjoyed his work here. Rose has got a lot of chasisma, but he seems to have a little more sizzle and not enough steak at this point in time. He’s clearly got a lot of potential though, and I am glad he advanced.
Match Rating: **1/2

Strong Style Summit Opening Round Match
Jeremiah Plunkett vs. Shane Smalls
I have never seen either of these guys before.

Plunkett cut a promo before the match about how Smalls is a replacement for Chic Canyon and that he is not the best CPW has to offer. He says Smalls is not in his league. Smalls slapped him. Smalls delivered a series of strikes, but he then ran into a big forearm from Plunkett. Plunkett was in complete control after that. Plunkett worked him over for a while. Smalls eventually came back with some chops and a leg lariat. Smalls got a nearfall with a fisherman suplex, but Plunkett then killed him with a Saito suplex: 1…2…Plunkett pulled him up. Plunkett then hit a piledriver: 1…2…3.

This was essentially a squash for Plunkett. Plunkett doesn’t look like a great athlete, but I liked him a lot. He’s got a great presence, and I hope to see him in more places soon. In conclusion, I am on the Jeremiah Plunkett bandwagon.
Match Rating: **

Malakai Cross & Ty Blade vs. Chic Canyon & Hex Gage
Gage was wearing a suit. Canyon was supposed to be facing Plunkett in the SSS I think.

Canyon and Cross started the match out. Not much of note happened early besides Blade and Cross establishing themselves as the rudos. Canyon got a couple of nearfalls on Blade by using some suplex variations. Blade used a suplex to cut Canyon off. Blade then gave him a series of chops on the floor. The rudos worked over Canyon for a bit. Canyon finally managed to knock Cross down with a big forearm that knocked him out. Gage tagged in. His hot tag was, let’s say, methodical. The rudos cut Gage off and started to work him over. Strange. Gage managed to hit Blade with a hip toss that turned into a DDT. That was really cool. Canyon and Cross tagged in. Canyon ran wild. Well, he walked wild, but it was effective. Cross hit Gage with a spinebuster. Cross managed to knock himself out on the way down. Canyon hit Blade with a superplex. Gage then went for a shooting star press. It was super impressive, but Blade avoided it. Blade locked in Gage with a sleeper, but Gage fought out of it. Gage went to the top rope and went for a 450 move, but Blade kind of caught him with a superkick. What the fuck was that. Cross and Canyon tagged in, but Cross hit him with a metal object. Cross and Blade then hit a wacky double team rolling powerbomb on Gage: 1…2…3

Jeremiah Plunkett ran out and attacked the tecnicos. Plunkett hit Canyon with a railroad spike and gave Gage a piledriver. Canyon got busted open.

This match was not very good, but there were some positives to take from it. Hex Gage is a complete freak of an athlete. He needs a ton of seasoning, but between his look and athleticism, he could be someone to look out for. Canyon also seems to have a lot of personality. While I’m curious to see them going forward, this match was mostly a bore that went on way, way, way too long, and it was not structured to maximize crowd investment.
Match Rating: **

Zakk Sawyers vs. Jeremy Travis© (CPW Heavyweight Title)
Travis came out and said that he didn’t bother to bring the belt, because he knew he wouldn’t lose the belt to Travis. Travis says he wants “Chaos Rules.” I assume that means there will be very little rules.

Both guys look very similar. Luckily, Travis has rudo chest hair, so I am able to tell them apart. It was all brawling at the start. They ended up on the floor. Sawyers hit a big running forearm to a seated Travis. That got a nearfall on the floor. Travis cut him off and started working him over. Back in the ring, Sawyers hit a back senton for a nearfall. Sawyers hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall. Travis cut him off and went back to work. Travis remained in control for a while. Travis hit a guillotine DDT for a nearfall. Travis beat him down for a long time. The heat segments on this show have been excessive, at least in the non-tournament matches. All of a sudden, Sawyer hit a pair of rolling elbows: 1…2…3

Things started well, but the match seemed to get progressively less “chaotic” as the match went on, and then the abrupt finish really did not help matters. This title win didn’t really feel like a big deal, which is unfortunate. Travis not having the physical belt for Sawyers to actually leave the match with also did not help.
Match Rating: **1/4

Drew Haskins© vs. Ricochet [NWA Southern Heavyweight Title]
Ricochet is a hometown boy done good. Well, he’s from Kentucky, but still.

Ricochet didn’t take his jacket off when the bell rang, so Haskins insisted upon wrestling in his sash. They wrestled in their ring jackets for a bit, but they finally took them off after a minute or two. Ricochet took him down with a headscissors. Ricochet teased a dive, but Haskins ran away, so Ricochet pulled back. Back in the ring, Ricochet hit a standing moonsault for a one count. Ricochet then used his torture rack variation to drive Haskins’s head into a turnbuckle. Haskins avoided a middle rope moonsault, and he then cut Ricochet off with a lariat. Haskins used wrist tape to choke Ricochet. Haskins got the heat on Ricochet. Ricochet came back with a running Ace Crusher. Haskins hit a back breaker for a nearfall. Ricochet hit a springboard lariat for a nearfall. Haskins went for a cross-body, but Ricochet countered it with a knee gutbuster for a nearfall. That was cool. Ricochet accidentally hit the referee with a Trouble in Paradise. Haskins grabbed his title belt, but Ricochet gave him a high kick. Ricochet then causally hit a Phoenix Splash, but there was no referee. Ricochet revived the referee. The referee started counting, but he saw the belt in the ring and called for a disqualification. That is a crappy ending. Haskins tried to hit Ricochet with the belt again, but Ricochet avoided it and beat Haskins up some more.

This was a fun match with a terrible finish. I do want to see a rematch now, but only because I feel like I didn’t see a real finish to this match. This really should have been the semi-main event unless this finish was a very last second change.
Match Rating: **3/4

There were some promos with Matt Cage, Christian Rose, and Jeremiah Plunkett after the show ended. Cage and Rose both say they will win the Strong Style Summit and then become the CPW Heavyweight Champion. Well, at least one of them will be wrong. Plunkett was more concerned with getting a shot at Chic Canyon. All three guys sounded confident in their promos. I think Plunkett can be a star in any indy right now under the right circumstances.

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The 411: This DVD is definitely a mixed bag. On one hand, you have a very solid start to the Strong Style Summit tournament with four very effective matches, but on the other hand, the non-tournament matches under deliver for various reasons (the main event was on its way to being a strong end to the show, but the poor finish leaves a sour taste). The non-tournament matches (that didn’t feature Ricochet) just went on for too long, and they did not entertain me. While this DVD did not blow me away, it made me want to see the conclusion to the Strong Style Summit (which I will be reviewing soon), and it opened my eyes to some great young talents like Joey O’Riley and Jeremiah Plunkett. The production values of the show are not perfect, but it was pretty solid for a promotion that does not regularly produce DVDs. This is far from a “must buy” show, but if you are interested in supporting Chaos Pro, you can buy this DVD for $15.

Final Score:  5.0   [ Not So Good ]