Well, would you look at this? I’m back, I guess. So, life gets crazy sometimes and certain things that are fun to do, you just don’t have time for anymore. The reviews that I was doing (especially with the length of them) became a casualty of a lack of time to complete them. Upon consulting with the higher ups here at the Chairshot (by which, I mean Andrew), we have worked out a format that mirrors his while still allowing me to put my own spin on it. The hope being that this will lead to quicker reviews and a more productive Harry going forward.

So, where does this leave us now? I’ve been making my way through the US Indies throughout the year of 2018 on mostly IWTV and HSWN, but I did pick up CZW as well. It just so happens that CZW is the catalyst for the return as this started as a thread on Twitter (www.twitter.com/hebtheeagle for the rough version) and I realized that format could work to bring back the reviews to The Chairshot. With that, we hop into the way-back machine with our sights set firmly to August of 2018 as ‘What I Watched’ returns with CZW Business as Usual.

What I Watched #11

CZW Business as Usual 2018

8/11/18

Vorhees, NJ

Runtime: 2:29:59 (CZWStudios.com, also available on HighSpotsWrestlingNetwork)

THE RESULTS

• Match 1: John Silver pins Myron Reed, knee trembler @ 10:33
• Match 2: Dave McCall/Nate Carter (The REP) defeat Francis Kipland Stevens/Fallah Bahh, McCall pins Stevens with ‘Flim Flam’ @ 7:18
• Match 3: Jordan Oliver pins KC Navarro, Space Ghost Sauce @ 8:04
• Match 4: Anthony Greene pins Joey Ryan, Be Kind Rewind @ 9:17
• Match 5: Alex Reynolds pins Trent (Beretta), Cobra Clutch Crossface @ 21:53
• Match 6: Joe Gacy pins Jeff Cannonball, roll-up @ 9:37
• Match 7: Brandon Kirk/Conor Claxton defeat Mance Warner/Mitch Vallen, Kirk pins Vallen @ 10:36
• Match 8: Rickey Shane Page pins Dan O’Hare, Chokebreaker @ 13:33

THE BREAKDOWN

Myron Reed vs John Silver –

Silver and Reed have a good back and forth match, but the crowd did not care (which becomes a theme for the first half of the show. Sadly, kind of the norm for CZW at the time too). Silver gets the win with a Regal-esque running knee to keep his momentum from beating Matt Riddle the month prior. (***)

Dave McCall & Nate Carter vs Francis Kipland & Fallah Bahh –

I like The REP more than most, but this match screamed as just a way to get them on the card. Francis Kipland Stevens is a character that could work in CZW due to the “not what you’d think” nature of it, but this wasn’t a great showing. Fallah Bahh can be hit and miss as well. I appreciate having the champions on the show (unlike the Wired (Zachery Wentz) and Heavyweight (MJF) champions), but it wasn’t much more than fodder to continue to build to a match down the road against Ruckus and Sabian (**)

KC Navarro vs Jordan Oliver –

Oliver vs. Navarro is decent but never hits that higher gear that some of their previous matches did. Part of that is due to the insistence in involving the rest of Young, Dumb and Broke at ringside (specifically Valentina). It seemed more about getting YDB over as a collective then having a good match. The finish is nice though, as Space Ghost Sauce is a double arm trap across the back into a facebuster similar to Mike Quackenbush’s ‘Black Tornado Slam’ (**½)

Anthony Greene vs Opponent – 

I am torn on how to respond to this match, knowing what we now know about one of the participants. Anthony Greene is someone who still has a huge upside and his work as the throwback ‘Retro AG’ character was always a lot of fun, moreso with the added presence of the Platinum Hunnies. The opponent is someone who I will probably encounter quite a bit on my journey back into the Indies and all I will say is I truly hope he finds the help that he needs as far away from pro wrestling as possible. Be Kind, Rewind is a corner walk tornado Unprettier and a really impressive looking move visually that picks up the win for ‘Retro’. (**½)

Trent vs Alex Reynolds – 

Best match on the show here and probably not even really close for those honors. Love the story that Alex and Trent told with Alex working over the bicep of Trent (who was in just his third match back after having torn said bicep against Chuck Taylor in February at PWG). Reynolds is someone who I don’t think ever gets that much of the spotlight because of the infectious personality of his usual partner John Silver, so seeing him get the chance to shine on his own in CZW was an interesting decision but one that I feel paid off. Trent is a criminally underrated worker and while I do feel he is better in the tags (either with Chuck Taylor or Rocky Romero), he has proven to be a very competent singles performer as well. The Cobra Clutch Crossface getting a clean tap surprised me but definitely was a needed boost for Reynolds with what came in the post match aftermath. (***½)

Joe Gacy vs Jeff Cannonball – 

I will preface this by saying I like Joe Gacy’s character in NXT and you can kind of see the beginnings of it in CZW which makes for a fun trip down memory lane. I also like Gacy as a performer more than most as well. I like Jeff Cannonball as a person (his Life Of on IWTV is excellent), but I am not a fan of him as a wrestler. As for the match, closer to the older CZW style then the more modern approach. The fans definitely reacted more to this though, which kind of tells you what they wanted. I’ve seen better matches from both but this wasn’t bad for the quasi death-match style it became. (**½)

Brandon Kirk & Conor Claxton vs Mitch Vallen & Mance Warner – 

Mancer is in the four person tournament on the next show to crown as number one contender. The reason I make mention of that is with Kirk and Claxton in-ring debuting ‘The Office’ gimmick, it made it relatively obvious that Vallen was in the match to take a fall. I don’t mind the pairing of Kirk/Claxton, but would have liked to see them tone down their offense a bit to match that they sold out to DJ. Kirk is another guy I don’t think gets the shine he deserves so it is nice to see him getting a spotlight here. Match overall is okay, but nothing you’ll remember a couple days later outside of maybe the finish, which sees Kirk top-rope sentoning Vallen face first into a barbed wire board across a pair of chairs. (**)

Dan O’Hare vs Rickey Shane Page – 

Main event is good for what it is, but the booking is baffling to me. I love me some Rickey Shane Page. I’ve been a fan of the dude for years and he has been killing it as of late (his GCW stuff during the pandemic was gold that not enough people got to see). O’Hare is admittedly an acquired taste (I’m personally not huge on him), but when you have him defeat Matt Tremont in Tremont’s “last match in CZW (for five months)” a couple weeks prior at New Heights, this felt like wasted potential on that momentum. RSP was also announced for the tournament the following month as well, which once again tipped the result of the match. Perhaps that announcement should have been made after the show in hindsight. (**½)

THE FINAL REACTION

A pretty good show for the time frame of the company. Reynolds/Trent is well worth seeking out to watch if you can find it but nothing on the show is actively bad (and this company has produced some dogs over the years). Your mileage may vary on the final three matches depending how you feel about death match wrestling, but I think the two and a half hour runtime blows by pretty quickly. A quick shoutout to Emil Jay and Paul Crockett on commentary as well as they both do an excellent job of talking about the main show points while still remaining entertaining to the viewer at home.

Best Match/Moment: Alex Reynolds vs. Trent

Worst Match/Moment: The REP vs. FK Stevens/Fallah Bahh

Overall Show Score: 6.5/10

MVP: Going to give this one to Alex Reynolds, based on both the match with Beretta as well as the post match attack/promo with John Silver that sets up a number one contender (presumably to the Wired title but not confirmed) ladder match for the following month.

THE SIGNOFF

And thus concludes the first edition of the new format for What I Watched. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. I’ll be back again soon. As to what I’ll be back with…well, honestly, I don’t know. I kind of watch shows at random, but I am willing to take suggestions. Hit me up on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hebtheeagle) or message me on Messenger and send me some suggestions. If I were to venture a guess, I’ll probably head down to Texas for some ACW. What is ACW? Tune in next time to find out. Thanks for reading, everyone.