Okay, so Proving Ground Night One was bloody terrible. But I think my review is entertaining. Please, dear Bokonon, let Night Two be a little but better…
We start with the YRR in their personal gym and Kenny King introduces his crew. Kenny King works out wearing dress pants. Everyone else works out in their wrestling gear. Kenny King does have a future, though. Everyone else talks, and it is pretty funny. This segment was short and amusing.
Shawn Osborne vs. Jerry Lynn
Shawn Osborne comes out with an unlit cigarette in his mouth and plays air bass. Wow, just wow. He lipsyncs his theme song too. I think I hate him. Jerry Lynn comes out, and I think I am ambivalent to him. Osborne have brought his shoulder straps, because Lynn is carrying him like a backpack. This match is super extra boring. Mercifully, Jerry Lynn hits the cradle piledriver for the win. Night two is not off to a good start.
Winner: Jerry Lynn via pinfall, *
Kenny King and Rhett Titus vs. The British Lions of Christopher Gray and Tommy Taylor
King and Titus are sure up and comers in RoH, the British Lions have made some noise in FIP, this can’t be worse than the opener. Can it? The Lions are a bit sloppy, but they don’t really do much in the way of the Lancashire style. Still they mesh more with the RoH style of wrestling than Shawn Osborne did. (I hate him) King is super over in Florida which is a problem since he is a heel. This is your standard tag match with Chris Gray taking the heat before hot tagging to Tommy Taylor. Its not enough though, as King and Titus are able to hit their Blockbuster Powerbomb combo for the win. This match was fun. The Lions were very unimpressive though.
Winner: Rhett Titus and Kenny King via pinfall, **
At this rate the main event should be nine stars…awesome. Oh, wait. Here’s the next match.
Bison Smith vs. John Kermon
John Kermon competes regularly for ECWA as Kermon the German. If you want to see what he has to offer, find one of those matches because Bison eats him. Claw slam ends the match.
Winner: Bison Smith via pinfall, SQUASH
Brad Attitude gets some interview time.
Davey Richards with Larry Sweeney vs. “Mr. Wrestling†Kevin Steen
This is a chapter in the American Wolves vs. Steenerico feud. These guys start appropriately showing their hatred for each other. Davey gets frustrated and we get a good old fashioned Memphis stall. Davey really gets it. Like few other heels he is completely fine with receiving no cheers or appearing cool in any way. That is how a heel should be. These guys bring the goods in this match. You can tell that they hate each other, but they both also want to prove they are the better wrestle hence the minimal brawling. Davey demolishes Steen’s leg and it seriously hampers Mr. Wrestling’s offense for the remainder of the match. Davey locks in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Steen catches him in a small package for the win. This was an awesome old school style match with some modern moves. I think this match got slept on quite a bit by most fans, but it is one of the better contests of the two shows.
Winner: Kevin Steen via pinfall, ***1/2
The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious vs. Tyler Black and the Necro Butcher
Of course the The Age of the Fall’s opponents in this match used to be members of the Age of the Fall so this is what one would call a feud. The brawl starts right away but soon settles in to a regular tag match. Then it goes back to a fourway brawl. Then it settles down again. Then it goes back to a brawl. I am sensing a pattern. It finally settles into a regular tag match with Tyler Black getting beaten up by Jacobs and Delirious. The hot tag devolves the match yet again into a wild brawl. Just as Black is about to defeat Delirious, Jimmy Jacobs comes in with a chair and draws the DQ. It was an ok match with a lousy ending.
Winners: Tyler Black and The Necro Butcher via disqualification, ***
Kyle Durden is in the back with D-lo Brown who talks about taking the title from Nigel McGuinness later in the show.
Austin Aries vs. Brad Attitude
A Double brings the cocky against Mr. Attitude. Aries is really just a pure dick to Brad Attitude for the entire match. It’s pretty awesome. The match itself is pretty slow, however. Aries character is awesome but this match is way too long and way too slow. Thankfully, Aries puts this puppy to bed with the brainbuster. Wow, this was boring.
Winner: Austin Aries via pinfall, *
Six Man Tag Match: Erick Stevens, Brent Albright, and Roderick Strong vs. The Dark City Fight Club of Kory Chavis and Jon Davis and Francisco Ciatso
The DCFC are a super over tag team in FIP (I am not a fan) and Francisco does his best Taz meets Johnny Stamboli impression. If I could describe this match in two words it would be: Hard Hitting. These guys just punch and chop and kick the bejeesus out of each other. Unfortunately, that’s about all there is a bunch of the old punch-kick. Annoying asside: As someone who speaks Italian, it bothers me that Francisco Ciatso’s name is all wrong. In Italian the name is Francesco (cisco is the Spanish version) and in Italian it would be pronounced Chee-atso and noy Kee-atso. Annoy asside over. Strong ends up winning the match for his team after a sliding Yakuza kick into the Boston Crab. This match had a lot of strike and not a lot else. I guess it is noteworth that DCFC and Ciatso got a “Please Come Back†chant. I was not in attendance for this show, obviously.
Winners: Roderick Strong, Brent Albright, and Erick Stevens via submission, **1/2
El Generico vs. “The American Dragon†Bryan Danielson
Yay, it’s time to bring the awesome. Generico starts the match with a hug. Generico wants another one, and Dragon gets boos for not immediately obliging. The fans then chant for him to say that he’s sorry. He responds, “Lo siento†and gets a huge embrace for his troubles. Given the pre-match antics they also start on a comedy path, but Danielson shows of his technical prowess. They tell a fun story of Generico making it to the ropes before Danielson can hit some of his signature moves, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Danielson just decimates the generic luchador with wild submission maneuvers. Generico is able to keep pace with well placed big moves, though. Bison Smith comes out to ruin the match with interference, and it gives Generico enough of an oppurtunity to hit a sick Yakuza kick and the BRAAAAAIINNNBUUSSSTAAA!!!!! I enjoyed the hell out of this match except for the Bison Smith mess.
Winner: El Generico via pinfall; ***1/2
RoH World Title Match: D-Lo Brown vs Nigel McGuinness ©
Nigel runs down D-Lo and calls him Savio Vega. D-Lo responds that he is a man, and slaps Nigel across the face. The match itself is pretty slow. D-Lo shows a lot of resilience, but Nigel stays on top of him. Nigel puts an end to things with a Jawbreaker Lariat. This was one of Nigel’s worst defenses of the championship through no fault of his own. After the match D-Lo Brown hits a swinging catatonic after the match while Nigel is still on the mic, which was pretty cute.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness via pinfall, **1/2
Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Final Thoughts: Ok, this show was much better than Night One, but it was far from a good show. Dragon vs. Generico and Steen vs. Richards are two great matches. The six man tag is fun and hard hitting. Everything else is totally inconsequential.
I’ll see you next time.
