Hey! I’m Steven and I write for Pulse Sports. In fact, my latest column – The View From Down Here #113 – is up and ready for your perusal. I have also made a name for myself in the wrestling section as being the very worst in the Roundtables. I mean it – I suck. But I do enjoy wrestling, and have ever since I first watched Ivan Putski face Sergeant Slaughter on TV back in the early 1980s.
I’m fortunate enough to have arguably the best Australian federation in my back yard – Riot City Wrestling. Logical and clear storylines, great athleticism, and sell-out crowds all make for an awesome experience. And with lighting and sound as good as any independent promotion I have seen online or in person, the place is as professional as any.
Welcome to Trial By Stone! Commentators are Keiran Burns (from Sydney’s AWF) and Josh Armour. Yes, RCW does still have live commentators, and good on them. I miss live commentary at WWE shows.
Now the Riot!
Crowd is not quite capacity, but they are loud! I heard numbers ranging from 230 to 260, so let’s call it 245 in attendance. Not bad for the night of a grand final and with a rival promotion having a show on at exactly the same time elsewhere in Adelaide.
TJ Rush starts us off in the ring. Last month he lost his title to Jacko Lantern in a three-way match which also included GD Grimm. At the end of the match TJ was knocked senseless and in that state agreed to a first blood match for the number one contendership with Grimm. He calls Grimm out and after some to-ing and fro-ings it was decided if Grimm lost he would not have another title shot for a year. Good opening promo from the two.
Match 1: Mimic v Adam Brooks
Brooks is making his RCW debut. He is from Victoria and is part of a long-running story where Mimic is the current champion of a Victorian promotion. Like many wrestlers coming into RCW, Brooks is a little loose, but Mimic is our broomstick man – he can get a good match out of an inanimate object. And this match was a good one, with Mimic winning with a double underhook piledriver.
Match 2: Matt Silva v Luke Santamaria
Silva is Mimic’s next Victorian opponent for the title, in Victoria in a few weeks. This match was a really good one. Luke has come a long way and the match was back and forth for the most part. But Silva ended up getting the win, knocking Luke out in the process.
Brad Smyth comes out in suit and sling. He goes on about being injured last show and actually has the crowd feeling sympathy for him. He calls Freddy Fuzion out to apologise for their match being cancelled, and then Elliot Sexton jumps Fuzion, Smyth rips off his sling and they beat him down until Rocky Menero makes the save. The Fuzion-Smyth match is now a tag match later on tonight!
Match 3: Del Taurino (w/ El Presidente) v Voodoo
This is the first in the best of three Key To The City series. And it was a strong match, but it seemed to end too soon. Just getting into it and it ended. Could easily have used another ten minutes, and been further up the card for such an important series. Voodoo got the pin with his high stalling elbow.
Match 4: Savannah Summers v Sway
As usual, Savannah shows why she is one of the best female wrestlers going around. Sway is no slouch, either, but Summers is awesome in the ring and is really getting into the heel role well. She came out accompanied by Smyth while Sway came out alone. What, no Miami? Smyth, of course, interfered, but got caught once to often and was thrown out! And then we had a ref bump and Summers used the out ref to really cheat to get her blows in. However, Miami came out and ripped the ref’s top off the injured ref, put it on, and Commissioner Jack allowed her to be the new guest referee. And in the end Sway came out with the win. While the result itself was not a problem – Summers could not overcome Miami and Sway – it went against what we know is supposed to happen in these situations: the heel wins with the face ref giving a very reluctant three-count. Oh well, I guess that means they’re shaking things up and the crowd certainly popped like crazy for it.
Match 5: Brad Smyth & Elliot Sexton v Freddy Fuzion and Rocky Menero
Good old fashioned tag team action. Faces start dominating (including Rocky just throwing Smyth around like a rag doll), heels cheat, Fuzion was your face in peril, take the crowd along for the ride. Match of the night. The crowd was mad for it and when Smyth eked out the pin on Fuzion, the crowd were livid. Great match from all four men.
Match 6: Jacko Lantern (RCW Champion) v Marvel (w/ El Presidente & Del Taurino)
The styles here did not seem to really gel and the crowd were a little dead after the tag match. The match itself was a good technical showing, but the ending was a concern. Yes, Jacko is the champion, but Del Taurino is fighting for the Key To The City, one of the more prestigious things, which gives its holder a guaranteed title shot at any time, and Marvel has pushed many to the absolute limits with his technical prowess. So, at the end El Presidente ran in and was misted. Fair enough. But then Taurino runs in and is put down with a single boot to the face. Yes, he wrestled earlier, but he is a monster. Jacko then pins Marvel. So he went over the entire Rude Ones stable in one match. That felt wrong.
Match 7: TJ Rush v GD Grimm – First Blood Match
The crowd were hot for this one. It was back and forth and both men could have won it. The head shots made me wince. On the steps, the stage, the barricades, the floor, exposed turnbuckles, everywhere. The ref did draw the line at a chair, though, and managed to confiscate it from both men before it was used. And in the end Grimm won, TJ’s white top stained red with the blood while Grimm’s own cut was kept hidden from the ref by his long hair. Good heel tactic and done well. What a match and what a night.
Yet another great show from RCW. Not a dud show this year so far.
Next show is November 6 and if I haven’t offended or upset anyone or stepped on any toes here at the Pulse, I’ll be back to try this again.
