Riot City Wrestling – Ascension 2011 (August 6)

Columns, Features, Houseshows, Reviews, Shows, Top Story

We have a 3-man announce booth for the night, and I’m not sure it really works. A healthy crowd, though not a full house, and they were odd as well. Quiet in some points and cheering heels at random. Odd.

Riot City Wrestling!

 

Straight into the matches!

 

Match 1: Tama Williams v Jimmy Scarlett
            Former champ Scarlett making his long awaited debut against the also returning New Zealander. Slugfest to start, then the flying kicks in. Good mix of high flying and solid impact moves. Some slow patches, and the flow felt a little off at times. Not sure if it was a good decision to open with this one, however, because the crowd were a little dead, having no real emotional investment in either guy. The match itself was quite the good showing, despite that. Ending comes when Scarlett hits a sweet exploder suplex, running clothesline, then frog splash for the 3-count.

 

Match 2: Marvel v Steve Miller
            Not the musician, but this is Miller’s wrestling debut. Nervous entrance, but to be expected. Exchange of arm bars and wringers to start, then some more flowing moves before Marvel takes over. Long beat down ensues. Crowd actually rallies behind Miller, and he makes a comeback (including an oddly low clothesline), including taking out El Presidente, But this distraction leads to a dragon sleeper from Marvel for the tap-out win. Good debut – one of the better ones – and Marvel is just that – a marvel.

 

Match 3: 4 way women’s elimination: Melody Summers v Savannah Summers v Eliza Sway v Miami
            Heels jump start the match, but the faces take over quickly and ram the sisters into one another over and over. God, this is going to be one of those matches too quick for me to keep up with. Well, after a lot of crashing, just like that, within 3 minutes, Miami rolls Melody up for the quick pin and elimination. Now it’s 2-on-1 in favour of the faces. Double teams abound. Savannah is just taking this abuse. Example: Sway gets her in a modified bow and arrow submission, so Miami runs in and kicks her in the head as well. Savannah them moves out of the way of a charging Miami so she rams into the corner post, hurting her shoulder and re-injuring the ribs that have kept her out of the ring for the past 2 months. Sway goes after Savannah, but Savannah rolls her up for the rope-assisted pin. 1-on-1, and Savannah goes after the injured Miami, methodically dismantling her. Miami comes back, still selling the injuries, even going so far as to struggle to hit her trademark Samoan drop, and then unable to make the pin because of the pain. Savannah distracts the referee, enabling Melody to run in, hit Miami with a chair, and thus give Savannah the pin. Great match but it felt too short. This could easily have been longer and kept the crowd enthralled.

 

The next match is announced as Voodoo v Jonah Rock, but Del Taurino comes out instead, demanding that his title match with Rocky Menero happen right now!
Match 4: RCW Title Match: Del Taurino (c) v Rocky Menero
Starts off fast and furious, until Rocky gets the upper hand briefly. Back and forth power match. The improvement in Del Taurino in the past 2 years has been incredible. And there are actually some cheers for him! Del Taurino takes over for a while, hitting some nice moves. Rocky comes back until a mule kick turns it again. Great match! El Presidente and Marvel run in, but Rocky cleans house, and then hits the roll the dice for the three count, and the title. And the place EXPLODES! I mean, I got goosebumps and the floor shook and everything. Match was really good, but maybe could have been even longer.
            Post match Voodoo and Mimic come out to celebrate with him. So, his win sort of gives away the winner of the number one contender’s match later, huh?

 

Match 5: Jonah Rock v Voodoo
            Rock comes out with Elliott Sexton. Long stall to start, then they connect and Voodoo is overpowered, but faster. The match works well with this difference, each man trying to turn the match into one where his strengths are the advantage. Jonah gets Voodoo outside where he slams him on the ground, then takes over for a long beat down. Voodoo starts to come back, but a unique counter for a neck spring entry stops it. More beating until Voodoo snaps . Now back and forth. Crowd are into this! Somersault plancha for Voodoo, back in and they exchange finishers. Rock even reverses the stalling elbow into a Samoan drop. A successful stalling elbow, but Sexton distracts the ref. Rock hits a spear and sitout piledriver for the win. Another good match!
            Post-match, Sexton kicks Voodoo in the testicles just to be a douche.

 

Match 6: Number 1 Contender’s Match: Mimic v GD Grimm
            I’m glad this is the main event. It’s been 2 years since they last met, at Ascension 2009, in fact. Oh, and Rocky comes out to sit in on commentary, making it even more confusing.
            Even, back and forth battle to start. Lots of great verbalising. Grimm manages to push Mimic off the top corner into the guard-rail and takes over, working on the outside. The interactions with the crowd are also superb. Back in and Mimic “Hulks” up, but Grimm hits a monster clothesline and Mimic does a Jannetty flip. And then Grimm hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on his left knee, lifts Mimic up to hit a second on his right knee, then repeats for a third on the left again. Awesome! And then: Chopocalypse! Mimic’s chest is left red raw, quickly turning purple. Cheers for Grimm! Mimic now in a tree of woe, Grimm runs in, but Mimic does a sit up and grabs Grimm around the neck, pushes off and hits a stunner. Wow! Mimic takes over. Nice double underhook bridged suplex for 2, but the 450 splash misses. Grimm hits a cut-throat driver, but only gets 2. A 2nd cut-throat is reversed into a Sega Mega Driver attempt, reversed into a backdrop. Back and forth again, until a big boot puts Mimic down. Mimic fights off a curb stomp and hits a super kick. 450 hits this time, for 2! Mimic doesn’t know what to do. Grimm manages to get a curb stomp on Mimic, also for 2! No one’s ever kicked out of that before! Now Grimm is the frustrated one. Grimm tries his own Sega Mega Driver, but Mimic reverses to his own, for 2! He then goes for a second one, hits it with authority. And that’s enough to get the three count. Mimic is the new number one contender! Did not see that coming!
            Match of the night, match of the year, whatever. Awesome. Words cannot do it justice. And, more to the point, we thought it had lasted maybe 10 minutes, but it went for more than half an hour. It had us all hooked so completely that we were lost in it.
            Post-match, Mimic helps Grimm up before he wonders to the back. Rocky then comes in to congratulate Mimic, next month they fight. But Rocky attacks Mimic from behind with the belt, then lays into him until Voodoo makes the save.
            Rocky returns with a tool box which he uses to clout Voodoo. He then gets a pair of scissors out and is cutting a lot of Mimic’s dreadlocks off! I mean, a lot! The referees try to get Rocky off, but he kills them. Joe, the owner of RCW runs out, but he is also dispatched. And then… Grimm comes out and makes the save! Voodoo and Grimm then help Mimic to the back.
            And we have a double turn. What a night! What a show!

 

Show of the year so far. Not a bad match on the card. Just… amazing.
            Seriously, when the DVD is available, get online and order it. Holy cow… This was great.

 

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