Taking a look at Bar Wrestling 5: This Is Halloween featuring Rocky Romero vs. Rey Fenix and more.
To watch Bar Wrestling 5, check out Bar Wrestling on Pivotshare or the Highspots Wrestling Network.
Rocky Romero vs. Rey Fenix
No graphic or anything to start. We go right to the ring introduction with Melissa Santos. This was supposed to be Scorpio Sky vs. Rey Fenix, but Sky wasn’t there. Rocky was a really good substitute for Sky. Both guys had some nice opening sequences that saw them do a lot of counter-lucha. They also had a really fun chop exchange that went from the middle of the ring, to the outside of the ring, and then back inside. The match started to lose a bit of steam as it went on, but the crowd got back into it after Rey Fenix countered a running clothesline attempt with a forward roll Ace Crusher.
As the match went on Rey Fenix hit a quadruple springboard that tore down a decorative curtain with lights on it. The fans went really wild for this act of senseless vandalism, and even cheered Fenix for it. The finishing stretch of the match was pretty exciting, with both guys exchanging moves and near falls. Rey Fenix eventually won when he countered a Tilt-A-Whirl into a Sitout Tombstone on Rocky. This was a really fun match and a great way to open the show.
Rating: ***1/4
@ReyFenixMx literally tearing down the house @azucarRoc @BarWrestling pic.twitter.com/KlHIXXTllE
— Joshua Hideaki Shibata (@HideakiShibata1) October 13, 2017
Super Panda vs. Taya Valkyrie
Prior to the match, Super Panda got on the mic and apologized to referee Rick Knox for an incident that occurred at Bar Wrestling 2: Independents Days. He then said it was an honor to wrestle Taya, but he’s very competitive. He then said “out there, you’re Johnny’s girl, but in here your ass belongs to Panda.” Super Panda should make that into a shirt on Pro Wrestling Tees. Taya said that this was an interspecies match and she wasn’t afraid of a Panda or something. It was hard to hear cause the audio isn’t very good.
This started out when Taya attacked Panda, followed by some lucha stuff. Super Panda took control of the match for awhile and worked over Taya and yelled misogynistic comments that got some heat from the crowd. Super Panda hit a cool snap German Suplex from a baseball slide while Taya was mounted on the middle rope. They brawled over to the bar of the American Legion in Baldwin Park. Nobody let the Health Department know about that spot, otherwise the Legion will probably their “A” rating. When they got back in the ring, the two started to exchange German Suplexes before a striking exchange. Taya eventually won with a Double Chickenwing Facebuster. This was a fun match. Not the smoothest match ever, but still solid.
Rating: **1/2
Brian Cage vs. Luchasaurus
This match started out with both guys going at it right at the bell. Cage went for a Thesz Press, but was caught in midair by Luchasaurus and was hit with a belly-to-belly suplex. Cage also hit a nice counter on Luchasaurus when he went for a cross body, only to end up being hit with a spinout side slam by Cage. Both guys hit some really cool high flying spots early on in the match, and then brawled on the floor for a bit. At one point, Luchasaurus shoved Cage into a fan. Louden Noxious then said “and the fan is not selling.” This was followed by a brief moment of awkward silence from Kevin Condron. He then said the fan didn’t feel it cause he’s wasted. You know, I trash Condron a lot for his work on CWFH, and rightfully so. Here, he’s actually sorta tolerable.
Once they were back inside the ring, Cage backflipped out of a Chokeslam attempt from Luchasaurus, followed by a jumping knee and a F5. Later in the match, Luchasaurus went for a standing back handspring move, but was caught by Cage who then hit a sit out Alabama Slam. Luchasaurus did some pretty cool athletic shit as the match went on. Eventually Cage threw Luchasaurus into the ceiling and hit him with a Rolling Lariat for the win. I honestly thought it was a cool finish. I mean, Cage threw the fucker into the ceiling. How can you not love that?
This was a surprisingly fun match. Both guys were solid, and Luchasaurus is someone that I’ve been impressed by. He’s a big guy, but he’s also agile and athletic. Plus he’s a wrestling dinosaur.
Rating: ***
The World’s Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan) vs Decay (Abyss & Rosemary)
Before the match, Joey did his usual lollipop gag. Jim Cornette can say what he wants about the Dick Spot. I think it’s lame too, but harmless. Joey’s lollipop thing though is just creepy though. Why would anyone want to share a lollipop with a person that is allergic to dogs, much less be around one? They always ruin things.
There was a lot of stalling at the start of the match with Joey doing his baby oil and the “touch my dick” thing. After Abyss turned him down, Rosemary obliged and tagged herself in. She then started to hesitate once inside the ring before doing a fake out. Things were pretty dull midway in the match. Aside from spots involving Joey’s dick, it didn’t seem like the crowd was into this. Maybe the audio muffled them or something.
The crowd did come alive when Candice hit the Balls Plex on Abyss. Moments later, Abyss hit an extended Black Whole Slam on Candice, followed by Joey shoving a lollipop into his mouth before super kicking him. After that, he hit a Boob Plex on Rosemary. The crowd came alive again when Joey brought Legos in the ring. Joey then did the Dick Move on Abyss into the Legos. After that, Rosemary spit some type of mist in Joey’s eyes before hitting a F5 for the win. I really wasn’t into this match. It felt like everything was dull aside from the Dick Spot, Boob/Balls Plex, and Lego antics.
Rating: **
Willie Mack vs. Gangrel
I use to think Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Billy Gunn at NJPW’s G1 Special in the USA this year was the most random match I’d see booked in SoCal. Bar Wrestling then had someone hold their drink and booked this.
I wasn’t sure how this match was going to go. This was a huge clash of styles between two completely different types of performers. They had a fun chop exchanging while brawling through the crowd on two occasions. Gangrel took a bump on the floor at one point, which was pretty random. Willie hit his Samoa Drop, followed by a kip up to a standing moonsault.
Aside from that, this match was sorta dull. There was a small “this is awesome” chant, but it didn’t sound genuine. The match ended when Willie got the win with a Stunner. Willie had a solid performance here. He seemed to do most of the work, Not like I expected Gangrel to put on a great in ring performance or anything, but I wasn’t really into the match.
Rating: **
Elimination Match: Funny Bone, Nurse Ratchet, Sage Sin, Sinn Bodhi & Tyler Bateman vs. The Killer Baes (Heather Monroe & Laura James), H.A.T.E (Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas) & Hot Young Briley
Gonna play Armchair Booker for a moment, but I feel like Tyler Bateman and Gangrel could’ve switch spots and it would’ve made for better results. The heel team with H.A.T.E, the Killer Baes, and Briley tried to get an early advantage, but the faces ended up getting back into the match early. After the faces worked over Peter Avalon, there was a clusterfuck of action that saw a dive sequence that ended with Sinn Bodhi doing an exaggerated dive off the ring apron.
The match overall was really weird. One of my favorite moments in the match came when Nurse Ratchet pushed a fan in a wheelchair who was at ringside out of the way for a spot. After the fan was pushed to a safe area, Funny Bone pushed Ray Rosas onto the other performers in the match. He then followed that up with a flying double stomp onto Ray as he was being held up by everyone else.
Ray Rosas and Peter Avalon both had good performances in this match. They did some cool spots and had some funny moments in this. There was a good sequence with H.A.T.E going against Bateman for a bit. They seemed to work really well during their segment.
I wasn’t really into the rest of the match. A lot of it felt kinda sloppy and the comedic timing off. Sage was the sole survivor of the match after eliminating Peter Avalon and Hot Young Briley. There was a badly botched spot where Briley went for a Fameasser, but his ankle looked to have twisted when going for it. Following that, Sage Sin hit a Code Red on Briley for the win. After the match, the faces entreated the ring to celebrate their victory.
Rating: **
Final Thoughts
First, about the production and commentary…
The commentary team is a mixed bag. Kevin Condron can be good on color, but man, Louden Noxious is just awful. His name is pretty much the perfect way to describe him. He’s loud and obnoxious. Both guys stepped over each other’s words a few times, and it felt like there was no real chemistry between the two. This might be the meanest thing I’ll ever say, but I really wish Louden Noxious never came to the SoCal scene.
The production could use a lot of improvements. I know Bar Wrestling isn’t working with a huge budget. I mean, they’re running in an American Legion over in Baldwin Park. Still, I know Joey Ryan could find someone capable of doing better production work for his shows. The white balance difference really hurt the quality, and it looked like one camera is filming in 1080 while the other is filming in 720. I like what Bar Wrestling is doing, but they do need to step it up on the video production.
As for the wrestling…
I’ve watched all of Bar’s shows so far, and it feels like it is still trying to find itself. It hasn’t been able to top its debut event, which I felt was the promotion’s best show so far. Bar 4, the event before this one, was probably the worst show they’ve put on and also looked like it drew the smallest crowd to date. The crowd for Bar 5 though seemed to be larger, and the card was much better.
Bar 5 was a pretty fun show. The first three matches of the show were good. Rey Fenix vs. Rocky Romero was the best match of the show, and Brian Cage vs. Luchasaurus was a close second. After that, everything ranged from sorta dull to average. If you have time to, I’d recommend checking this out.
To watch Bar Wrestling 5: This Is Halloween, check out Bar Wrestling on Pivotshare or on the Highspots Wrestling Network.
