Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Smart Mark Video’s DVD Video Sampler #4

Smart Mark Video is the best independent wrestling video supplier in America. They sell DVDs, MP4s, and they have a Video onDemand service. Support them. This is a SMV sampler that only costs $1.99.

AAW Scars & Stripes

Merrionette Park, Il
July 21, 2012

Mr. Miller vs. Isaias Velasquez vs. Lamar Titan vs. Tweek Phoenix
Everyone took turns to run through their offense in the early goings. Titan and Velasquez fell to the floor and Tweek wiped them out with a frog splash plancha. Darin Corbin then ran out and brawled with Phoenix to the back. Velasquez hit Titan with a Regal-plex variation and a kneeling superkick. Miller then hit a couple of a kicks and a ghetto stomp to the back of Velasquez’s neck: 1…2…3!

This was a solid opener. Mr. Miller continues to get a push in AAW, which I most definitely approve of. He definitely needs to be getting higher profile opportunities, sooner rather than later though. Velasquez and Titan didn’t do much to stand out in their AAW debuts, but they didn’t drop the ball either. Note: I initially gave this match ** in my Scars & Stripes review. I enjoyed the match more here.
Match Rating: **1/2

Alpha-1 Watch The Throne

Hamilton, Ontario
April 22, 2012

Mike Rollins & Justin Sane vs. The Steady Ballers (Alex Vega & Brent B)
The Ballers were running through Rollins and Sane early on. Vega kind of looks like AR Fox. His gear is similar at least. Brent caused Sane to accidentally dive on Rollins. Brent went for a slingshot plancha, but Rollins caught him and dropped him on the apron. Sane then hit a tope con hello on Vega. Awesome dive. Back in the ring, Vega gave Sane a Venus. Time for LOTS OF MOVEZ. The crowd was quite into this. It was a lot of fun. They all got to their feet and traded strikes. They then traded some nearfalls. Rollins gave Vega an Air Raid Crash ON Brent. Rollins and Sane ended up on the floor. Brent hit a no-hands dive in Rollins. Back in the ring, Sane was hit with a sequence of cool movez that ended with Vega hitting a diving Flatliner: 1…2…3!

Holy shit. This match was a ton of fun and came out of nowhere. Based on this match, Alex Vega and Justin Sane are two guys that should be getting looks in other promotions. Brent B looked solid. I’m not a fan of Mike Rollins, but he did a good job here.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Beyond Wrestling Double Trouble

June 16, 2012
Cleveland, Ohio

Drew Gulak vs. Mark Angel (w/ Nick Talent)
Mark Angel is the Wins Leader in Beyond. Gulak is looking to avenge all of his losses in Beyond. He already defeated Carter and Mangue. Gulak was pretty damn over. Angel was at +14, whereas Gulak was at 0 (same number of wins and losses).

Angel stayed on the floor at the start. He finally got back in the ring, and he and Gulak traded holds, battling for control. Gulak tried for a cross-armbreaker, but Angel escaped and hit a high angle back suplex. Angel got control of the match after that. Angel then hit the rolling moonsault deal. Gulak came back with a nice missile dropkick for a nearfall. Gulak was gaining control of the match, but Talent tripped him from the outside. Gulak got distracted and Angel cut him off again. Angel worked him over more. Gulak ended up on the apron at one point and hit a huge forearm and then a diving lariat: 1…2…NO! Angel managed to send him to the floor with a dropkick. Angel was looking to grab Gulak through the ropes, but Gulak caught him with an exploder to the floor!!! FUCK! Gulak chased off Talent again and then hit a suplex to the floor! Back in the ring, Gulak scoop slammed Angel onto the ropes. Angel came back with a back suplex/cutter move: 1…2…NO! Angel set up for a superplex, but instead hit a super hurricanrana: 1…2…NO! That was not the cleanest super hurricanrana. They traded head butts. Angel avoided a lariat and hit another big back suplex for a nearfall. Gulak then hit his big lariat to the back of Angel’s head and then a backbreaker: 1…2…NO! Talent jumped on the apron. Gulak went to punch him, but accidentally elbowed the referee when he wound up. Gulak then locked in the Gu-Lock on Angel. The bell rang and Gulak thought he won via submission. The ring announcer said that Gulak was disqualified for striking the referee.

Gulak snapped and attacked Nick Talent. Gulak locked in the Gu-Lock on Talent and refused to let go. Jonny Mangue and Eric Corvis had to pull him off. Gulak went after him again, but Corvis and Mangue dragged him to the back. This was awesome.

Drew Gulak is a great professional wrestler that needs to be booked in more places. He and Angel are probably the two best wrestlers in Beyond and they showed why here. It’s a shame that this match didn’t have a proper finish, but the angle afterwards really got me excited to see a rematch down the line (which must happen in my eyes). This angle came off much better than a lot of past Beyond angles because it was done in front of the live crowd. Note: I gave this match ***1/4 in my review of the full show. I enjoyed the match less this time.
Match Rating: **3/4

IWA Midwest

BJ Whitmer vs. Chrisjen Hayme
I bet this match ends with Whitmer’s Peruvian Necktie.

They went back and forth mostly until Whitmer hit a big spinebuster. Whitmer worked Hayme over for a while after. Whitmer was working a little heelish, but not really. Hayme managed to connect with an enzuigiri, and Hayme then made a comeback after that. Whitmer came back with a buckle exploder and a flatliner. Whitmer then transitioned into the PERUVIAN NECKTIE! Hayme taps out.

This was a rather flat match that I was not invested in at all. Whitmer has had a lot of strong matches in the last couple of years. This was not one of them.
Match Rating: **1/4

Wrestling Is Fun

Kobald vs. Soldier Ant
Oh man, the building for this show looks AWFUL. You can’t even see the fans from the hardcam. Soldier Ant looks less bulky than usual. Could this possible be someone else playing him? That would be weird. Kobald cut off Soldier Ant soon enough and worked him over. Soldier Ant ended up on the floor. Obariyon and Kodama attacked Soldier Ant. Solider Ant managed to make a comeback. Kobald went for a charge in the corner, but he crashed head-first into a turnbuckle. Soldier Ant then hit a TKO: 1…2…3

This match was not very interesting. I could be completely wrong, but I swear someone else must have been playing Soldier Ant here. His body looked very different.
Match Rating: **

DreamWave

Prince Mustafa Ali vs. Marshe Rockett (w/ C-Red)
I like both of these men. This is the first time I’m watching a match from DreamWave.

Rockett quickly hit a slingshot dive and threw Ali into a post. Rockett was just running through Ali. Eventually, Ali managed to cut Rockett off in the ring. He then worked over Rockett for a short period. Rockett came back with a suplex on the apron. Ali came back with a coast-to-coast dropkick: 1…2…NO! Ali went to the top rope. Rockett dropkicked him to the floor. That was awesome. Rockett then sent Ali head-first into a ringpost. That looked nasty. Rockett hit a no-hands dive on Ali. Ali came back with a floating, reverse 450. Rockett no-sold it and hit an Ace Crusher. C-Red got in the ring. Ali shoved the referee down. Rockett accidentally gave Red an Ace Crusher. Lol, that looked stupid. That confusion allowed Ali to hit a Roll of the Dice: 1…2…3.

Shitty storyline finishes to crazy in-ring action never cease to annoy me. These two men did some bat-shit stuff here, and it’s a shame that DreamWave doesn’t have more exposure. These two deserve some recognition for their efforts. That finish is awful. My advice to bookers: if you think your storyline is amazing, it probably isn’t. Don’t let your story take away from the match. Keep it fun.
Match Rating: ***1/4

AIW Straight Outta Compton

Drake Younger vs. Rickey Shane Page
Younger was a mystery opponent selected by John Thorne. Drake was clearly getting close to the great shape he would soon be in.

Drake quickly hit a senton to the floor. Drake followed that with a rolling senton off the stage. RSP got control of the match for a little bit, but Younger came back with a bucket shot to the head. RSP came back with a suplex onto some chairs. Drake came back by throwing chairs at RSP’s head. RSP fought back and hit a German. RSP then hit a DVD on chairs. Drake avoided a swanton and hit a Tiger Driver for a nearfall. Younger then hit a F-5 through a chair. John Thorne came out and gave Younger some barbed wire. RSP got bulldogged into it. Younger used the wire to for various submissions on RSP. RSP escaped, but Thorne then hit him with a light tube. Younger then hit the Drake’s Landing: 1…2…3

This is two dudes beating the shit out of each other. I found it to be quite fun, and it was one of my favorite matches on this DVD.
Match Rating: ***

ACW

Rachel Summerlyn vs. Jessica James
They started the match by trading pinning combinations. They went back and forth some more. Some stuff looked smoother than other things they tried. They shook hands to show respect. Summerlyn got control of the match, and she worked over James for a while. Things got heated. The commentators explained that James was always considered Rachel’s “little sister.” So, she doesn’t like being beaten down by Summerlyn. Great job by the commentators. This match is now far more interesting. James made a big comeback and hit a Codebreaker variation for a nearfall. James then locked in a variation of the Octopus stretch. Summerlyn escaped. James got a cloverleaf, but Summerlyn made the ropes. Summerlyn then dropped James on her head with a German: 1…2…NO! That was awesome. This match is very good. James came back with a DDT for a nearfall. James got another nearfall with a Diamond Dust. Summerlyn got a pinning combo out of nowhere: 1…2…3!

This was a heck of a match. I really enjoyed everything about this.
Match Rating: ***1/4

School Of Roc: Class Wars

The League (Tripp Cassidy, Reed Bentley, & Sue Jackson) vs. Dale Patricks, Remi Wilkins, & Heidi Lovelace
I loved Class Wars. It saddens me that it no longer exists.

Dale quickly wiped out Bentley with a tope suicida into a wall. The League managed to isolate Patricks after a while. He got worked over. Maul. Kill. Consume. Patricks then managed to hit a German on Bentley. Wilkins tagged in. He ran wild. Sue got dumped to the ring. Heidi ate a Reed Awakening. Wilkins gave Bentley a reverse flapjack. Sue killed Reed with the Choke Bomb: 1…2…NO! Heidi got triple teamed. Reed finished her with an assisted ghetto stomp: 1…2…3

This was the usual good effort from the Class Wars wrestlers. Obviously, there were some spots that were a little rough around the edges, but overall, I definitely enjoyed this. Sigh. I miss Class Wars.
Match Rating: **3/4

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Also, check out my Best of Chikara blog and an archive of all my 411 video reviews.

For more information on Smart Mark Video, check out their:
Facebook
Twitter
DVD Store
Video Streaming Service
MP4 Store
Youtube Page

The 411: This is mostly a very fun DVD. Almost every match has some value, and the DVD is a hell of a bargain. Buy this DVD.
Final Score:  6.8   [ Average ]