UWA Hardcore Wrestling is based out of Toronto and is held in high-esteem by the wrestling community due to appearances of Japanese Wrestling Legends Jushin Liger and Ultimo Dragon. It started up in 2003 and, despite recently having problems with finding a building for their latest shows, is still up and running. Over the years their popularity has grown due to regular appearances from TNA Wrestlers Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin and Independent Wrestlers like Cheech, Cloudy, M-Dogg 20 (Matt Cross), Tyler Black and PUMA.
We’re walking into a historic weekend for the promotion because the show that I am reviewing is the first of two historic shows UWA put on during the summer. On May 25th, UWA Wrestlers took on Japan’s finest Toryumon Wrestlers. Night One was just a prelude to what we would see on Night Two, but nonetheless it was a great event. At the time of these events, Josh Prohibition is the UWA Canadian Champion (UWA’s Main Title) and Lionel Knight is the UWA Light Heavyweight Champion (Secondary Title). The UWA Tag Team Titles were vacant
The DVD opens with Ultimo Dragon in his hood and in a suit. Mad stylin’. He states that tonight’s show is the first Toryumon show to ever happen in Canada and that he is extremely excited for the weekend’s shows. The wrestlers who will be competing on behalf of Ultimo Dragon’s Toryumon Wrestling School: Kazuchika Okada, Toshiya Matsuzaki, Amigo Suzuki, Passion Hasegawa, Hiromi Horiguchi Daisuke Hanaoka, Ultimo Dragon and Jushin “Thunder†Liger. Wrestling for UWA Hardcore: Dan Paysan, Alex Shelley, M-Dogg 20 (Matt Cross), Lionel Knight, Derek Wylde, Sonjay Dutt, Claudio Castagnoli (He gets “HEYâ€s even in Canada), Chris Sabin, Larry Sweeney (HUGE POP), Arik Cannon and Josh Prohibition. Handshakes are exchanged between the wrestlers and Kodak-Moment Pictures are taken. They did a great job setting up the mood of a big event. Let’s jump right into our first match.
Match One: Dan Paysan beat Daisuke Hanaoka with a snap fisherman suplex.
Fun Rating: 5/10 (Didn’t move to slow… but sure as hell didn’t fly by.)
Star Rating: ** ¾ (Solid for an opening bout.)
Dan Paysan and Daisuke Hanaoka put on an okay opener for tonight’s show. It was a little bit confusing to me to see Paysan gets cheered like he was a babyface, but have the actions of such a heel. For example, after Paysan landed a nice move and he stood over Hanaoka in the corner and yelled “Look at this guy, he’s pathetic!â€. Maybe it’s the Chris Hero syndrome where you are such a good heel you get cheered for… but whatever. One of the coolest spots in the match was when Paysan got Hanaoka in a drop toe hold and Hanaoka tried breaking it up with a couple of roundhouse kicks to the chest. Paysan ate two of them, caught his foot on the third kick, rolled forward and put Hanaoka in a sick looking double leg stretch. Sort of like a hangman’s clutch and a boston crab. A couple of spots were blown and just executed sloppy. The size difference (Hanaoka > Paysan) could’ve effected the meshing of their styles. What kept both ratings up though was the fact that the action never stopped and it was a constant flow of steady and solid executed moves.
Match Two: Passion Hasegawa beat Larry Sweeney after a second-rope Swanton Bomb
Fun Rating: 8/10 (I Laughed Out Loud For a Good Minute or So)
Star Rating: *** 1/4
This one was a very funny match. They opened it with exchanging holds, and Hasegawa sending Sweeney out of funk. Sweeney got aggravated and wanted to prove his superiority to everyone in the building… especially Hasegawa. He grabbed the microphone and told everyone that he knows there is one thing that he is better at than everyone in the building, and that is dancing! He challenges Hasegawa to a Strut Off. “More More More†starts playing and the Strut Battle is on! Funny little bit where both men strut. Sweeney broke out the (Karl Anderson) Machine Gun and Hasegawa swiveled his hips (Rocky Romero). Super cool stuff. Hasegawa goes again and Sweeney tries to sneak up behind him, but Hasegawa counters Sweeney attack with a near fall rollup. The rest of the match was Sweeney pretty much dominating. He even broke out the dreaded Garvin Stomp. Sweeney was being as cocky as ever, and Hasegawa couldn’t find a way to get around Sweeney’s closed fists and stomps. It all turned around when Hasegawa got a second wind after kicking out of a top-rope sunset flip. He unleashed a fury of moves and finished Sweeney off with a second-rope Swanton Bomb. Fun match, I loved it.
Match Three: Hiromi Horiguchi beat Arik Cannon with the Hiromi Counter
Fun Rating: 9/10 (This match was non-stop action. Entertainment at its finest.)
Star Rating: ****
These two guys put on one hell of a showing. Arik Cannon’s ability to do everything PERFECTLY in this match amazed my beyond belief. I’m usually not the one to praise Cannon, but kudos. Another reason why I was caught off guard is because I had no idea what Hiromi was capable of in the ring. Now that I’ve seen him in action, I can’t wait to pick up more DVDs of this guy. Arik Cannon was a victim to one of the most painful moves I’ve seen in a very long time: an Air Raid Crash onto the Knee. Arik Cannon played a great heel and the crowd was really behind Hiromi the whole time. The ending came when Hiromi ducked the Shining Wizard and he put Cannon in the Dragon Sleeper. Right when everyone thought that was his finisher… BAM! He flips and sends Cannon’s face slamming on the canvas. That’s all she wrote folks.
Match Four: Chris Sabin beat Sonjay Dutt and Bryan Lee when Sabin gave Lee the Cradle Shock
Fun Rating: 7/10 (Watching Sabin and Dutt go at it in the ring is always good.)
Star Rating: *** ½ (Constant Action. Great display of athleticism… just not enough story telling.)
The crowd is really balanced between these three. Chris Sabin is automatically my favorite to win mainly because he used 311’s “Beautiful Disaster†as his theme music. Bryan Lee, which sounds like a generic name, actually has a gimmick where he is fully clothed in ninja gear. It’s pretty legit. Match opens with the usual three way dance format, one wrestler on the outside while the other two duke it out. In this case, it was Sonjay who was watching Bryan Lee get his ass handed to him by Sabin. There was a really cool spot where Sabin was on the apron and getting ready for a springboard dive into the ring, but Dutt cut him off with a 619 to the feet, resulting in Sabin eating apron. Each one of these three guys had their chances to put the match away but no one took advantage of that situation better than Chris Sabin.
Match Five: Claudio Castagnoli beat Toshiya Matsuzaki with the European Uppercut From Hell
Fun Rating: 8/10 (David [Matsuzaki] vs. Goliath [Claudio])
Star Rating: *** ½
Claudio Castagnoli is a staggering 6’5â€. His opponent tonight, Toshiya Matsuzaki, was no more than 5’6â€. The size difference added to the fun rating significantly because there is nothing better than watching Claudio Castagnoli toss around little people. Matsuzaki looked like a giant walking Red Bull billboard; his tights were the same scheme as the Red Bull can/bottle. There were a couple moments where Matsuzaki made me think that he could actually pull a win off. Like when he landed the hurricanrana driver, it looked like it was over, but Claudio kicked out last second. He gave Matsuzaki a MONSTER Yakuza Kick, and he kicked out. Castagnoli tried to put him away with the Waterslide, but still, the little man kicked out. He crossed the arms the arena filled with yodels of “RICOLA!â€. Matsuzaki reversed it with the hurricanrana driver which I mentioned earlier. Claudio was fed up with Matsuzaki and launched him 10 feet into the air crashing to the ring mat. When Matsuzaki finally got up, he was met with a raging European Uppercut which sent him flying back a few feet. Claudio over.
Match Six: Lionel Knight © beat Amigo Suzuki and retained his belt after he pinned him with a Top-Rope Angel’s Rights
Stipulation: UWA Lightweight Title Match
Why This Match Is Important to Lionel Knight: He’s been running his mouth for months on how he is better than everyone who has challenged him for his title. He can’t make himself look like a fool, he has to win.
Why This Match Is Important to Amigo Suzuki: The champion has been running his mouth since he won the belt. He needs to shut Knight up and take the belt away from him. How nice would it be for Suzuki to kill those two birds with a stone on his UWA debut?
Fun Rating: 7/10
Star Rating: *** ¾
Amigo Suzuki proved to Knight that he is a valid opponent for his UWA Light Heavyweight Title. The beginning of the match had Amigo in control; outsmarting Knight’s every attempt of reversal. He did a lot of work on the neck and arm of Knight. The match turned tables and Knight’s offense consisted of a LOT of stiff moves. A hard landing Backdrop Driver and a stiff dropkick to the face are just to name a couple. After the dropkick, Knight went outside to celebrate but was attacked from the back by the quickly recovered Amigo. Knight was sent flying into the crowd, and Amigo went back in the ring and climbed to the top. After gaining a stable position, he dove into the crowd knocking Knight back a few rows into the crowd. Suzuki takes the fight back into the ring after taking some time to recover and tries taking out Knight with a Brainbuster/Diving Headbutt combo. He connected with the Brainbuster, but Knight rolled out of the way of Suzuki’s Headbutt. He nailed the Tiger Driver on Suzuki but he kicked out. As the last minute of the match drew closer, I felt it was very possible for Suzuki to win the match and become the new UWA Lightweight Champion. He nailed Knight with a beautifully executed Tiger Suplex, but Knight wasn’t ready to give up his belt. The match ended with Knight giving Suzuki a 2nd Rope Angel’s Wings.
Match Seven: Josh Prohibition © vs. Alex Shelley vs. MDOGG 20
Stipulation: UWA Canadian Title Match; Triple Threat Match
Why This Match Is Important to Alex Shelley: Shelley is a former UWA Lightweight Champion, and he has officially moved on from that division. He is the crowd favorite to win in this match and he needs to prove himself to UWA Officials.
Why This Match Is Important to MDOGG 20: He’s been traveling around the card positions since he started in UWA. The only way he can really secure a spot on top is by winning the UWA Canadian Title.
Why This Match Is Important to Josh Prohibition: No one has even come close to taking away his belt during his current reign as champion. He can’t let that change tonight.
Fun Rating: 8/10 (Watching Shelley be a jerk was great. And seeing MDOGG flip out in the crowd was amazing.)
Star Rating: **** (Great balance of technical, hard hitting and high flying action. Good story told.)
This match had Alex Shelley all over it from beginning to end. The crowd was popping for him every single chance he got an offensive move in, and he came so close to taking the title home numerous times. MDOGG 20 was quite popular too, even though it looked as if he was a heel. Nonetheless, still a spectacular match. Just like the other Triple Threat Match tonight, this match managed to keep my interest the whole way through. They did a great job balancing out the momentum between these three guys. The funniest part of the whole match was when MDOGG hit a cartwheel move over the top rope, landing on Prohibition and Shelley. He went into the crowd, started dancing with himself and threw trash and chairs up in the air, yelling out “WOOOOOO! WOOOOOO!†It is a sight that needs to be seen. Though he did go crazy, he didn’t go crazy enough to win the UWA Canadian Title. It was down to Alex Shelley and Josh Prohibition (MDOGG unconscious on the outside) and Shelley essentially had the match won after two devastating Superkicks. Prohibition kicked out of them, rolled Shelley up while pulling the tights and nabbed the win.
Match Eight: Jushin Liger and PUMA vs. Ultimo Dragon and Kazuchika Okada
Fun Rating: 9/10
Star Rating: ****
This match was fantastic! Just seeing Ultimo Dragon and Jushin Liger go at it was enough of a treat. Jushin Liger and PUMA went together so well. It was sort of like Liger was PUMA’s mentor, telling him what to do. Those two were acting very heelish throughout the whole match, and Ultimo Dragon and Kazuchika Okada were the aggravated faces. Liger and Dragon got the streamer treatment from the UWA fans, making them feel like they are at home. The beginning saw a series of fast-paced action and face offs. First team that got the momentum shifted on their side was Liger and PUMA. They beat on Okada for almost 10 minutes, giving him powerbombs, stiff kicks and even a brainbuster on the floor. He finally made the hot tag and Dragon absolutely cleaned house. After softening the opposing team up a bit, he tagged Okada back in which was a huge mistake. Okada fell victim to a couple of Liger’s palm strikes and a top rope suplex. PUMA came in and broke one of Okada’s pins, and Dragon didn’t like that at all. He threw PUMA outside and told the crowd to pull the barrier apart. He then executed an Asai Moonsault onto PUMA. Inside the ring, Liger saw a chance to take the match and gave Okada the Liger Bomb, putting him away for good.
After the match, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin came out and interrupted the celebration between all four men. Sabin grabbed the microphone and apologized, but he needed to say something. He saw Dragon and Liger come in to UWA and he realized that they were at the legendary status in Pro Wrestling, something that Shelley and he stride for. What better way to help out that cause by challenging the two legends to a match the following night? Without waiting for a response, the Motor City Machine Guns come in the ring and ambush Dragon and Liger. After giving them their finishers, Shelley grabbed the microphone.
“You two may be legends, but in UWA, Sabin and I are Gods! Before we came to this company this company was shit. We are the class of the UWA. We are the BEST you have to offer. We are the best wrestlers in this company! You people should be so lucky as to see us each and every month! Month in, month out, we come to UWA and we bust our asses and who gets the streamers? Who gets the respect? The guys who are here once in a few months? BULLSHIT! But not anymore… not anymore.†(Sabin buries Liger in the streamers they received earlier on before the match. Shelley goes onto explain the Murder City Machine Guns will end the legend of Ultimo Dragon and Jushin Liger.) “Bang Bang bitches… you’re dead.â€
The Inside Pulse
Overall: This was an extremely fun show to watch. A lot of the guys in here are great talent who you can never go wrong with. This show surpassed my expectations with flying colors. If you are thinking about buying any UWA DVDs, check this one out for sure.
You Can Buy It At: http://www.wrestlingmerchdirect.com/
http://uwahardcorewrestling.com/
