The View From Down Here – RIOT CITY WRESTLING REANIMATED VI [Jan 29, 2011]

Houseshows, Reviews, Shows

RIOT CITY WRESTLING – REANIMATED VI [Jan 29, 2011]

First RCW show for the year. After a hot day (40+ degrees Celsius, about 105 Fahrenheit), it was still warm at night and yet more than 250 people came along for a solid show.
            The commentators were Josh Armour and Kurt Murray. Special note that a percentage of gate and all of the half-time raffle proceeds were going to go to the Queensland flood appeal – well done to all involved. There was also talk of other moneys – some of the wrestlers donating their show money, some from bar – also being contributed.

Match 1: Voodoo v Brad Smyth
            Voodoo’s managed to bulk up over summer (so the woman beside me pointed out over and over again) while Smyth has really toned down his OTT entrance and attire. Thirty seconds of a feeling out process snapped straight into non-stop action. Starting with counter and block after counter and block. Brad worked Voodoo’s knee for a bit, then they both seemed to forget about it and went back to just kicking the crap out of each other. Apart from that small thing, this was a damn fast and damn fine match. Voodoo finally managed to get a cannibal destroyer for the three count and a huge pop. What a great match to start 2011. Voodoo would make a worthy RCW champion… just saying.

GD Grimm came out without his normal entrance, dressed just in his ring attire. He grabbed a mic and abused Commissioner Jack because, after his actions at the end of 2010, he has been forced to work his way back up the RCW food chain. Therefore tonight he’s facing a rookie, an RCW training academy debutant. Grimm promised to crush the guy completely and everyone else who stands in his way back to the top. Intense promo that got the point across without too much padding. He is superb on the stick.

Match 2: GD Grimm v Shannon Jervis
            It started off with a bit of back and forth mat wrestling before Grimm unloaded on him. His chops peeled the young guy’s chest. And really, apart from a brief flurry in the middle, this was essentially a Grimm squash (as it should have been). Grimm won with a torture rack into back breaker for the three-count. After the match, Grimm threatened that all rookies are in his sights, singling out Kurt Murray on commentary. Not a bad first outing from Jervis, especially considering his opponent, it must be said.

Match 3: Shazza McKenzie v Miami v Savannah Summers
            This match was essentially a handicap match with Savannah against the other two. After a brief three-way, Savannah managed to get Miami out and then worked on Shazza’s back. She did a great job of keeping Miami out yet maintaining control of her opponent in the ring, showing once again why she is probably one of the best female wrestlers skill-wise I have seen. Miami finally got back in and she took it to Savannah while Shazza was out, making it a series of 1-in-1 matches. Miami is also a fine worker and she and Savannah pull no punches with one another. Then it was again 2-on-1 until Savannah dumped Miami and walked into a splits stunner by Shazza for the three count, giving Shazza the win. Now, this was a good match, but for the second time (the last being at Trial By Stone in October), the major heel female was beaten down by two faces. That still seems to go against normal booking, and it really only makes Savannah seem more sympathetic. At least the wrestling’s good. Miami and Shazza make all nice at the end as well, to punctuate the handicap nature of the match.

Match 4: Elliot Sexton v Mimic
            Mimic no longer wears the face paint and has new trunks. And Elliot has the best taunt in wrestling. Apart from his pose, he does something with his gluteal muscles you have to see to appreciate…
            The match started with some nice hard and tight mat wrestling, quite technical and then Mimic threw Sexton out, followed it up with a suicide dive and the pace suddenly picked up and did not let go. Great back and forth match. At one point Mimic went through a series of different suplexes for a series of two counts before Sexton reversed one into a reverse suplex for 2. Sexton got upset, went after the ref, the ref pushed him down. Moments later Sexton kicked the ref into unconsciousness. New ref came out… so why no DQ? More great back and forth action until Mimic kicked out of a suplex powerbomb and Sexton decked the second ref. Sexton then hit two half-nelson suplexes. He covered and a third ref ran in – it’s Rocky Menero! (Rocky was suspended back in November for refusing to release a hold o n Sexton in their match.) He counted three and held Sexton’s hand up as the winner, but kept out of Sexton’s sight. When Sexton finally saw who it was Rocky killed him and sent him scurrying away. Apparently Mimic was then declared the winner by DQ or it’s a no contest or something. The commentators certainly didn’t seem to know. But what a pop for Rocky! This was an awesome match that played nicely into the Rocky-Sexton feud, even if the ending was weird.
            But Rocky’s been suspended since November, so how could his decision hold water? Then Commissioner Jack came out and lifted Rocky’s suspension from “now”. He said that Rocky had fulfilled all the requirements of his suspension. After the events we saw tonight – attacking Sexton after his match? Was that a requirement of his suspension? That was all before the “now”. This was a rare bit of storyline discontinuity on RCW’s behalf. However, the upshot is that Rocky has a match later on in the night.

Match 5: The Rude Ones (Marvel and Del Taurino with El Presidente) v TJ Rush & Fuzion.
            Word came that Fuzion was taken out back stage and so his replacement was Be-Bop!
Match 5: The Rude Ones (Marvel and Del Taurino with El Presidente) v TJ Rush & Be-Bop.
            Strange match. A few botched spots and it felt like it didn’t really flow. The middle portion was just a long beat-down on Be-Bop. Not even double teaming or really cheating, just beating him up and goading TJ on the ring apron. However a Be-Bop tornado DDT finally allowed him to tag in TJ and he was the proverbial clichéd house on fire. TJ missed an SSP, but hit a springboard moonsault press on Marvel and El Presidente on the outside, leaving Be-Bop and Del Taurino alone in the ring. One sweet looking TKO later and Del Taurino got the three-count. Not a bad match by any stretch of the imagination, just a weird one.

Match 6: Rocky Menero v Adam Brooks
            New music for Rocky – I already miss ‘Back In Black’. Brooks looked a little out of place at times, confused or lost. I don’t know. Rocky did his usual marvellous job in the ring, but seemed a step too fast and as a result the match felt slightly off. Highlight of the match – Rocky caught a Brooks ‘rana attempt and stepped over into a Boston crab. Rocky hit his Roll the Dice of Brooks, then Elliot Sexton came down and distracted him, but Brooks could not capitalise and a second Roll the Dice gave Rocky the three count and the win. Okay match.

Match 7: for the RCW title: Matt Silva v Jacko Lantern (c)
            Silva started on the mic as usual and cut a generic heel promo. This started back and forth and went to the outside quickly. Nice skin the cat straight to kick by Silva. Into the crowd they went and through the crowd with nice stiff shots all round. In the ring and the pace continued fast and furious until the chinlock spot in the middle. Oh, and Air Jacko is still an impressive looking move for a man of his height! For the first time in a long time, looking out of it only 15 minutes in made sense after how hard they were hitting one another. But the ref was knocked out again! Same ref! Brooks ran interference but was taken out by Jacko. Ref slowly came to and we got some slow 2-counts. After 3 boots to the face Jacko finally got the 3-count and retained the belt. This was Silva’s best match in RCW by far, and a great way to end the night. And then the Rude Ones came out and threatened Jacko and Jacko wanted to take them on there and then but they left him standing.

I would like to point out that I became aware of some of the backstage goings on leading up to the show. But that is by the by. What I reviewed was the show itself, not the goings on behind the scenes which may have resulted in what we saw. And that is something I am going to stick to this year – what I see is what you get. The night is all that matters.

More than 2 ½ hours of wrestling action. Not a bad match on the card, but especially Smyth/Voodoo, Mimic/Sexton and Jacko/Silva showed that this year is going to be another great one for RCW. And with the rookie threat by Grimm it means we are going to see some new faces, as some older ones seem to have left for at least for the time being. Next show is a two-nighter for the Adelaide Fringe Festival. 2011 is looking like a good year for wrestling already!

 [Shameless plug: Don’t forget my 2010 sports awards here on the Pulse!]

Australian. Father. Perpetual student. Started watching wrestling before Wrestlemania 1. Has delusions of grandeur and was known to regularly get the snot beaten out of him in a wrestling ring. Also writes occasionally in other Pulse sections.Thinks Iron Mike Sharpe is underrated. http://stevengepp.wordpress.com