Moose vs. Cobb, Douglas James vs. Brian Cage, DoomFly, and more in this review of Bar Wrestling 11: April O’Neil.
To watch Bar Wrestling 11: April O’Neil, check out Bar Wrestling on Pivotshare or the Highspots Wrestling Network.
Scorpio Sky vs. Tessa Blanchard
This had a pretty basic story of Sky overpowering Tessa during the match to counter her offense. Tessa would also try to use her speed to cancel out Sky’s advantage. During the match, Louden Noxious said Tessa “might be the most famous Blanchard so far.” Christian Cole then mentioned Tully. I’m so glad he’s on commentary. Sky continued to control the match, while Tessa kept trying to fight back. She eventually made a quick comeback when Sky went for a Superman Spear in the corner on Tessa, only for Tessa to get her knees up. Sky then got control of the match again until Sky had an Ace Crusher attempt on the ring apron countered. Then Tessa hit several Tope Suicidas, which the crowd was really hot for. Tessa eventually won with a top rope double knee face smash.
I thought this was a pretty solid match. Sky was really great here and got a good match from Tessa. I usually think inter-gender matches are bad because they’re too repetitive and unrealistic. Most of the time I find them hard to get into because woman are presented as being just as strong (or stronger) than their larger (and sometimes more experienced) male opponents. This one worked well though, as you had Sky being the stronger of the two and Tessa having to rely on an agility advantage to get the win. Again, Scorpio Sky was great and deserves tons of credit here. This was a good opener.
Rating: ***
Taya Valkyrie vs Katarina Leigh
Whenever I see a show with a Taya Valkyrie match on it, it usually ends up being one of the worst matches on the show. I’ve seen Katarina a few times but not enough to form an opinion. Based on this match, I think Katarina might be the female Dynamite Kid as she got a decent match out of Taya. Taya still had a bad and sloppy performance, but Katarina did well enough here that she made the match good.
Katarina controlled most of the match, and her offense was pretty good here. She hit her spots well and come off as believable. Taya looked like she was rushing through spots at some points. There was a really questionable moment in the match where Katarina hit a Tornado DDT on Taya for a two count, and Taya sold the move by screaming her catchphrase. Moments later, she was back on offense like nothing happened. Taya would then get the win. Like I said, Katarina made this match good. Taya was, well, yeah.
Rating: ** (Rated this higher mostly because of Katarina’s performance.)
Douglas James vs. Brian Cage
I’m so glad Douglas James is no longer under a contract that restricts him from performing around SoCal. This started off with an exciting sequence where both guys did Lucha stuff. Douglas James also did his trifecta dives spot that he’s been doing lately. He starts off with a Lope, followed by a Tope Suicida, then he ends with a Tope Con Hiro. It’s nothing overly fancy, but the way he delivers the dives with such intensity makes the spot really cool.
Douglas got a lot of offense on Cage early in the match, giving him a nice showcase. Cage would then control the match for a bit and had a basic Bigger Wrestler vs. Smaller Wrestler formula. Cage would throw Douglas James around, and Douglas would use his speed advantage to get the better of Cage. In the middle of the match, Cage delivered an Electric Chair drop on Douglas James, who ended up tearing down the decorative curtain from the ceiling.
During the match, Douglas James went for a Frog Splash but looked to have accidentally landed forearm first on Cage’s nose causing it to break. I’m not sure if it was the case, but it looked like the low ceiling or the ceiling curtain caused this because Douglas James usually hits this move cleanly. Either way, Cage’s nose was gushing blood. After that, he hit Douglas with multiple Powerbombs for the win. After the match, you could see Cage’s blood all over Douglas. This was such a fun match. Douglas James had a great showcase, and Cage had a very strong performance. I highly recommend people check out this match. I’d really like to see these guys go at it again in an environment that isn’t so limited.
Rating: ***1/2
Joey Ryan, Eli Drake & Kevin Martenson vs. Brody King, Braxton Sutter & Andy Williams (“Wow! He’s still got it!” -Look Magazine)
As usual, Joey did his “touch my dick” shit. On commentary, Louden Noxious and Christian Cole said Howard Stern was the “patron saint” of Bar Wrestling. That is really not a good thing. There were a lot of moments in this match where the commentary was beyond annoying. Louden Noxious is seriously the worst. He’s not funny, he’s not insightful, and he adds nothing to the commentary.
Martenson hit a nice Tope Con Giro on Brody early in the match. After that, the match had some comedy stuff. Joey was then worked over by the other team before tagging in Kevin Martenson. He went for a tope suicida on Braxton Sutter at one point, but was caught by Brody King and Chokeslammed on the ring apron. The match went on, and Joey did his Dick Flip spot on Andy Williams. After that, a bunch of shenanigans broke out before Martenson scored the win for his team on Brody with a schoolboy pin. This match wasn’t really that special. There were some nice spots, but overall it was pretty average.
Rating: **1/2
Post-match shenanigans
Brody King beat up Martenson after the match. Johnny Yuma got in the ring, and Martenson and Yuma took out Brody King. Now the Rocknes Monsters are back. Ugh.
Kris Wolf vs. Allie
This started off with a bunch of schtick. Wolf was being eccentric as usual, and the fans were into schtick. After a bunch of comedy in the opening sequence, the match got serious for a bit before it went back to comedy. Wolf pulled out a bag of baby carrots and tried to feed Allie with it. Moments later, Allie stomped on Kris Wolf’s wolf mask and shoved baby carrots in Wolf’s mouth. Minutes later, Kris Wolf got her wolf mask and had it perform simulated cunnilingus on Allie as the fans chanted “eat the meat.” Who says wrestling fans aren’t classy and dignified?
The action itself wasn’t good. Allie did some really bad mat work, and the structure wasn’t very strong. It felt like they went from one comedy spot to another with no real flow. At one point in the final moments of the match, Wolf hit Allie with a sloppy looking T-Bone Suplex that Allie didn’t seem to get fully over for. Kris Wolf eventually won. This match just wasn’t very good. I thought Allie wasn’t on Kris Wolf’s level and had a terrible performance.
Rating: *1/4
H.A.T.E (Ray Rosas & Peter Avalon) vs. Tessa Blanchard & Indi Hartwell vs. The Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy w/ Coach Mikey) vs. Doomfly (Eli Everfly & Delilah Doom)
This was a really fun sprint. It started out with Ray and Peter attacking Doomfly, and then the match went right into spots that included dives in the opening minutes. Eli and Delilah would have a fun showcase with the Ugly Ducklings. H.A.T.E would then have a sequence with Tessa and Indi. The Ugly Ducklings then got a showcase of their own. It was my first time seeing them, and I enjoyed their stuff. They’re not doing the craziest moves, but they string together their spots really well and have some cool double team moves.
Once again, Doomfly shined here and continue to be the frontrunners for SoCal Tag Team of the Year in my eyes. The sequences they had with the Ugly Ducklings were so much fun. I think they could put on a really good match if they were paired up in a normal tag match. H.A.T.E were also really fun here. I wish more promotions in SoCal would book Peter and Ray as a team. Ray and Peter eventually got the win in a fun sprint. This was a really good match. I think it probably would’ve been better without the team of Tessa and Indi, but it was still pretty good.
Rating: ***1/2
Jeff Cobb vs. Moose
This match started out with some antics, like Cobb mocking Moose’s football background and them brawling at the bar. The barmaid was pretty upset that they didn’t pay for their shots and made her way to the ring to voice her displeasure during the match. Who does she think she is, fucking Legion Larry or some shit? After the comedy stuff, this turned into a good heavyweight-style match. It was hard hitting and full of throws and suplexes. This was the first time I’ve seen Moose in years. I haven’t watched TNA/Impact in forever, and when I started watching ROH again Moose was still new to the business. The guy seems to have evolved really well as a performer.
This was a really good match. Both guys put on a really good main event match. Like I said, it was hard hitting full of suplexes and throws. The pacing kept things exciting as well, and nothing dragged. Cobb got the win after hitting the Tour of the Islands on Moose. Again, this was a really good match.
Rating: ***1/2
Final Thoughts
Bar Wrestling is a mixed bag usually. There are really good matches, and then there are some stinkers. The commentary was an improvement with Christian Cole. Louden Noxious was still terrible.
As for the matches, I thought this show was better overall than most Bar Wrestling shows. The opening match, Douglas James vs. Brian Cage, the 4 Way tag team match, and the main event were all very good. I highly recommend people check those matches out if they can.
To watch Bar Wrestling 11: April O’Neil, check out Bar Wrestling on Pivotshare or on the Highspots Wrestling Network.
