By Scrub
Walking into Legion Hall, the atmosphere
felt a little different right off the bat. It just didn’t feel
like the usual GSCW shows. Although by the end of the night, the
atmosphere wasn’t so weird anymore, and felt like the usual show
that GSCW has put out time and time again. It just feels too weird
referring to “them” as APW LA. I will start to use their
new name from now on, but it’s still just too weird. Kinda like
how I still call Vince McMahon’s company, the WWF.
You can tell there have been changes
since the “merger”. For the 5.31.03 show, there were
more pointless angles and mic work. Only guys that know what to
do with the mic should be given the mic. And some of the usual
local workers weren’t on the card (i.e. Supa Badd & Mr. Excitement).
Also, APW Central Coast and OG APW have managed to smuggle in
their guys onto *ahem*, APW LA cards (i.e. Billy Blade & James
Watkins). Honestly, I’d much rather see the SoCal’ers in the ring.
The usual hot crowd was in attendance
in New Hall, as opposed to the rather dead crowd (at least for
the undercard) in the City of Industry for AWS. The show started
off with a promo from the Hardkore Kidd con Hardkore Inc. (El
Jefe y “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce). That segment served
it’s purpose. No problem with that at all. It even led to a match
that I really really dug from the two. More on that later.
AWS: Quicksilver & Gallinero
IV vs. Zokre & Phoenix Star
APW LA: Quicksilver & Silver Tiger vs. Infernal & Gallinero
IV
APW LA’s opening bout was better
than AWS’s opener. As you can see, both openers were junior tag
team bouts. Same style match, pretty much the same type of competitors,
but APW LA’s match was executed much more smoother than AWS’s
match. Me and Steve were talking about how Quicksilver could possibly
be the front runner for 2003 Rookie of the Year, with Hook Bomberry
right on his coattails (Scrub Cliché # 72). If Hook wrestled
in SoCal as much as Quicksilver does, then the race for SoCal
ROTY would be even tighter. But for now, Quicksilver takes the
lead. Gallinero IV looked really good in his match(es). Peoples,
you need to be on the look out for this guy on future cards. Like
Gallinero Tres, Gallinero IV actually brings pride to the rather
comedic Gallinero gimmick, by doing both the “comedy”
deal and the “wrestling” deal, at the same time! *gasp*
A comedic wrestler that can wrestle is a very good thing. Infernal
was Infernal. His usual self, jaw-jacking with the fans and being
a dick. Silver Tiger looks like he’s been hitting the gym, gaining
some weight and adding some muscle. Tiger has definitely improved
since the last time I saw him. Good opener to start off the night.
“Regular” Blade made his
presence known and got on the mic. I’m pretty sure nobody really
knew who he was, except for the SoCal Internet scene and the wrestlers
in the back. I bet you some of the “new school” SCU
Internet fans didn’t even know who “Regular” Blade was.
He rambled on about something that really didn’t interest me,
nor the people around me. It was bad enough that nobody cared
about this segment, but it gets worse. It gets more “clustery”,
if you will. This may be out of order, but for some reason, Dave
Getz (a SoCal manager on various shows) comes out, and also rambles
about God knows what. Then, Dynamite D comes out and makes himself
commisioner. Yes. Really random is right. Hell, then I came out,
and made myself co-comissioner. Then, Blade took advantage of
the opportunity, and nailed D from behind with a full Pepsi bottle.
That’s pretty deadly, considering that the Pepsi bottle was full.
The steel chair ain’t got nothing on the full Pepsi bottle. It
may have been a Pepsi Twist. I’m not sure though. But the “twist
gimmick” would make more sense as to why D got knocked out.
Then, James Watkins (OG APW wrestler) comes out and chokes out
Blade. This leads to a bunch of referees and APW LA brass to run
out and attempt to get Watkins off of Blade (ala Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter
on Jerry Lawler or Low-Ki’s Dragon Clutch on Chris Daniels). I
find this comical, because why should the fans care about this?
Both guys were making their debut on this show. Nobody really
cared about Watkins or Blade. Nobody really takes Watkins seriously
as some badass mofo that likes to choke people out. At least,
not the fans in SoCal (NorCal, perhaps). And nobody was really
rallying behind Blade hoping that he would be alright. It was
all just really pointless, yet funny. There were even chants of
“this is pointless”. The best part in this whole cluster
was that Dynamite D made himself commisioner some how! So random!
Maybe it was made clear as to why he was commissioner, and if
that’s the case, then the explanation was drowned out from the
“this is pointless” chants from the crowd. Then, I became
co-comissoner of APW LA. Then, Paul T. became the APW LA Sergeant
at Arms. Then, Dropkick Guy became the APW LA Secretary of Defense.
Then, Angry Fan became the APW LA co-Secretary of Defense. It’s
just all so ridiculous. I think the “comissioner” role
in wrestling is very overrated and unnecessary. But that’s just
me.
Whatever happened to the Bo Cooper/Al
Katrazz match that was set up months ago? Bo Cooper vs. Billy
Blade was an alright match, but to me it seemed that the crowd
was hardly into it. At least, not my section. Hey, I could be
wrong. Maybe people loved the hell out of that match. Bo Cooper
has tons of charisma, but I think he is under utilized. It’s good
to see that Cooper is trying to get his name out there, and work
more shows outside the EWF. Obviously, it’s working, and more
people are being exposed to his work.
Disco Machine vs. Melissa was next.
Another alright match. Nothing too spectacular. The usual intergender
go-behinds took place, with Disco enjoying it, and Melissa wanting
to have nothing to do with it. Melissa also made it known that
she thought Disco was a “fairy”. Disco looked fine in
this match as did Melissa (who at this point, I’d still say is
the top US woman). Did I mention that Melissa has bangs now? Wow.
Finish saw Disco submit Melissa with what looked like an Octopus
Hold on the mat. I know there’s a name for it, but I’m no Mike
Tenay (/me laughs). Tony Mamaluke uses this submission and CZW’s
Eric Gargiulo calls it the “Spaghetti Bender”, if that
is any help.
Joey Ryan vs. Lil’ Cholo was yet
another alright match, although it had it’s miscues (Scrub Cliché
# 86). Crowd was behing Cholo all the way. Orange County represent!
Joey Ryan Fan (in a mask) ripped up his Joey Ryan sign right in
front of the Technical Wizard. The look on Joey Ryan’s face was
priceless. It looked like he wanted to cry. Joey Ryan Fan (in
a mask) did this earlier at AWS as well. At this point, it really
didn’t seem like the usual GSCW show.
Chris Bosh vs. Scorpio Sky was up
next. This was that match that ended the streak of “alright”
matches. The match that set the tone for the rest of the night.
To my knowledge, this singles match hasn’t even happened until
now. Some people were calling this matchup a “sleeper”,
meaning that it could potentially be really good, without people
expecting it. This match was really good. One of my favorite matches
of the night. The crowd were rallying behind both men. Scorpio
and Bosh work really really well together. They moved so fluid
and so smooth, both complimenting each other really well. I’d
definitely like to see this match up again. Again? Awww yeah,
again and again! Scorpio Sky has already proven that he can go,
and now it’s Chris Bosh’s turn to prove that he can go as well.
Bosh will definitely be one to watch as time goes by. Finish saw
a sick reverse huracanrana by Scorpio onto Bosh, then following
up with the Final Cut/Nightmare on Helms Street on the knee, giving
Scorpio Sky the duke. Really good match.
Scott Lost vs. Excalibur was another
really good match. A battle of the “Guerrillas”, if
you will. This was the best that I have ever seen Excalibur in
a New Hall ring. Actually, this was the best I have ever seen
Excalibur in awhile. Good to see the good ol’ Excalibur back.
Scott Lost was no slouch either, as he too had a very good performance.
Lost and Excalibur compliment each other so well, as the two of
them are bump machines that will do whatever it takes to make
their opponent look badass (i.e. that nasty DDT). One spot that
I really enjoyed was Excalibur’s Tarantula variation that he hit
on Lost. Later in the match, Joey Ryan tried to interfere on behalf
of Scott Lost, but to no avail. Very good match. One of my favorite
Excalibur and/or Scott Lost matches.
Hardkore Kidd vs. Scrap Iron Adam
Pearce was up next. Earlier, there was a drawing of names to see
which wrestler would get to face Hardkore Kidd later on for the
title. Several joke names were pulled out (i.e. Honky Tonk Man).
Then Adam Pearce’s name was pulled. HKK and Jefe thought it was
a joke, yet Pearce responded back with a “Yeah, why not?”
HKK was having none of this. This then led to a heated argument
between the former Hardkore Inc. members, which then led to a
brawl, which set up the match for later on in the night. Very
well done segment, in my opinion. It served it’s purpose and made
me anticipate the match even more.
This match was one of the best Hardkore
Kidd and/or Adam Pearce matches that I have ever seen. I really
dug this match. The intensity for this match was at an all time
high for these two. The “former” friends were not cutting
each other slack, as they beat the living hell outta each other.
Really good match, until the screwy finish. Adam Pearce had the
match in the palm of his hand, as he was about to nail his piledriver.
Then, in a huge swerve, he dropped down to the mat and laid down
for the Hardkore Kidd. Then afterwards, Vanderpyle (Pearce’s manager)
and El Jefe got in the ring, and cut promos on the fans, thus
reuniting an old incarnation of Hardkore Inc. (also called “La
Familia”, says Vanderpyle). I understood the finish, because
Pearce and HKK are tight like that, but still screwy. Pearce and
HKK were beating the shit outta each other, yet they were gonna
end up tricking the fans. This reminded me of the time at EPIC’s
inaugural show, when Samoa Joe beat the living mess outta Excalibur,
then later turned on American Dragon and Spanky, aligning himself
with the same Excalibur that he beat up earlier. That’s my only
beef really. I just wish there was a better finish. They could
have done the whole respect thing afterwards, but I guess that
isn’t Hardkore Inc. style. Or, if Hardkore Inc. really wanted
to do the “lay down for me” deal, they could have done
it right off the bat, although the New Hall crowd would have never
been treated with the good match that those two churned out (I’m
glad they didn’t go that route). Really good match from the two.
The best I’ve ever seen from the two.
Pearce is definitely unique. Unique
in the sense that he connects with the crowd really well, a rarity
in the SoCal scene. Hardkore Kidd also has that same uncanny ability
to connect with the crowd. So when you pair the two up for a match,
you can bet your bottom dollar (Scrub Cliché # 11-B) that
the heat for the match will be hot. This was my first time seeing
Vanderpyle in action as well. Although he really didn’t do much
at APW LA, I got to see him go nuts at AWS. Really good heel manager
that seems to know what he’s doing. Vanderpyle is a plump fellow
that has that southern drawl, and carries around a dry erase white
board with him. He then writes various messages on the board,
similar to a Sign Guy Dudley. He’s definitely up there with Jason
Bennett of Damage Inc. Way past Big Ugly’s manager (wrestler on
the AWS show), who didn’t do anything but stand in the same spot
with a barbed wire 2×4. (On a side note: Joey Ryan Fan thinks
she’s hot). Vanderpyle definitely compliments Pearce very well.
At this point, the whole Hardkore Inc. stable is very interesting,
comprising of: Hardkore Kidd, Adam Pearce, Al Katrazz, El Jefe
and Vanderpyle. (On yet another side note: Hardkore Kidd will
be facing Super Dragon at the next AWS show at Frank & Sons.)
The main event four way was badass.
A fine match that wasn’t as “clustery” as people thought
it would be. Reminiscent of past ECWA and ROH four ways. Word
cannot really describe this match. Too many things to note. Oh,
but I can’t go on without mentioning the Shining Wizard reversal
into the STF by Dragon. Or the triple German suplex, followed
by a B-Boy bridging German, followed by a footstomp from Super
D. Ah, just get the damn tape. There was a really cool dive sequence
that saw the ever-so-graceful Shooting Star Press to the floor
from Bobby Quance. Super Dragon even busted out the Skytwister
Press, a move he hasn’t done in ages. After the dive sequence,
the crowd was on their feet going apeshit. Super Dragon was eliminated
first, then Jardi Frantz (who was met with plenty of “stoner”
chants from the crowd). B-Boy hit a Cross Special on Quance, for
a really close nearfall. Finish saw B-Boy hit a Shining Wizard
to the back of Bobby’s skull, then hit a nasty looking… uh,
I’m gonna take a stab at it… a fisherman’s/cradle exploder head
drop. I KNOW THERE’S A NAME FOR IT! Quit badgering me! You gotta
see this for yourself. Absolutely sick. Afterwards, the New Hall
crowd were on their feet, and rightfully so. Hopefully
this will be the last time we see these four guys in the same
match for awhile. All four of these guys work really well together,
but I think it’s time for some fresher matchups.
At first, it didn’t feel like the
same New Hall shows that I’ve been going to for the past couple
months. But after the night was over, it felt like the good ol’
GSCW that we all came to know and love. Excuse me, I’m sorry…
APW LA. Good show, but the pointless promos and angles have got
to go. If promos and angles are a must, at least have people involved
that the fans care about.
Scrub
Rey Jr.’s got nothing on my “714”
scrub@socaluncensored.com
