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Northeast Wrestling “Live!”
April 15, 2017 - Bethany, CT
Northeast Wrestling is back at the NEW Arena and their champion Cody Rhodes is with them. He defends his title in the main event against former ROH and New Japan standout Bobby Fish. Other huge matches include Donovan Dijak taking on Travis “Flip” Gordon and former UFC star Chuck O’Neil taking on Ring of Honor’s Vinny Marseglia.
MATCH ONE: The Now (Vic Delicious & Hale Collins) v. Adrenaline Rush (Keith Youngblood & “Dangerous” Daniel Evans)
The Now out doing an obnoxious Michaels-HHH Attitude Era DX act (minus the crotch chops). Adrenaline Rush got the crowd to chant “Go Home Now!” and they teased walking out. This is definitely a hot crowd and the noise carries extremely well.
Adrenaline Rush got in quick tags and offense early on before The Now cut the ring off on Evans and got the heat on him. The Now did a very good job of keeping Evans on their side of the ring and using quick tags and double teams to keep the crowd rallied behind the babyface.
Hot tag to Youngblood who did well showing babyface fire as he ran wild. The match broke didn’t last much longer as Youngblood went to the top and hit a cross body block for the win. This would never win match of the year, but it was a by the numbers (which I mean as a great compliment) and did its job as an opener that got the crowd really fired up and ready for the rest of the show.
WINNERS: Adrenaline Rush
MATCH TWO: Maxwell Jacob Feinstein v. Christian Casanova
MJF cut a promo before the match running down the audience and the Bethany, CT area, calling it the armpit of America. He reminded everyone that he’s better than them and said bring on his opponent. Very good, simple promo from MJF to get the crowd against him.
A great flurry of offense from Casanova early including an impressive somersault plancha to the floor. MJF feigned a neck injury in the corner. As referee Kevin Quinn checked on him in the corner, MJF made sure Quinn’s attention was turned away as he raked Casanova’s eyes to gain the advantage. Really well done.
MJF got the heat on Casanova and went to work on his left arm/wrist. Casanova made a comeback with some nice athletic moves. MJF was able to overcome and finished Casanova with a rear armbar. He wouldn’t let go of the move after the match and a lot of bell ringing, but he eventually let go and the outcome wasn’t overturned.
WINNER: Maxwell Jacob Feinstein
MATCH THREE: “Degenerate” Dexter Lou v. Rex Lawless
Lou is a student of Matt Taven & Mike Bennett. He was announced as hailing from the Blackjack tables at Mohegan Sun.
Lawless made quick work of him and finished it with a sitout powerbomb off a chokeslam.
WINNER: Rex Lawless
MATCH FOUR: Maria Manic & Mandy Leon v. ???
Manic cut a promo before the match saying she and Mandy want to prove they’re more than pretty faces and that they’re hard working women who want to make their way to the top of the industry. She also said she wanted to show Mandy who she really is. So she clotheslined her and we have a singles match instead.
Manic spent most of the match in control and building the heat. Mandy made a comeback and ran wild. It looked like she was on her way to winning when Manic ducked a running clothesline in the corner and rolled up Mandy with a handful of tights for the win. After the match, Manic grabbed Mandy’s tiny dog that she brought to ringside and ran off with it. So I guess this feud MUST continue.
WINNER: Maria Manic
Before the next match could begin, Marshall McNeil came out and took over announcing duties for the match. He cut a promo putting over “his monster” Wrecking Ball Legursky saying he will continue to cut down everyone in the company including Ron Zombie.
MATCH FIVE: Wrecking Ball Legursky v. Ron Zombie
Legursky is a large human. He used a Vader-style offense including a lot of corner splashed to keep Zombie down and get the crowd behind a Zombie comeback. Zombie was finally able to bring Legursky down with a big boot, but before he could do more, Rex Lawless jumped him from behind and it was a DQ. Legursky and Lawless double chokeslammed the referee and Zombie. McNeil got on the mic and said he cut a deal earlier in the week to add Lawless to The McNeil Family. He then said the two of them will be enforcing Marshall’s Law. After The McNeil Family left, Zombie got the mic and said he’s not going anywhere.
WINNER: Ron Zombie
MATCH SIX: Chuck O’Neil v. Vinny Marseglia
O’Neil was announced as undefeated. Marseglia is the clear babyface judging by the crowd reaction. There was a “who cut your hair?” chant directed at O’Neil who had braids, but Marseglia, who also had a wild ass haircut, correctly asked the crowd, “who me?”
Maseglia has the lion’s share of the offense early on, but eventually, O’Neil turned it around and went to work on the left arm Vinny. He did a lot of work to it on chairs and on the floor, rolling in the ring a couple of times to break the count.
Some guy from the crowd came over to where I was sitting and organized the crowd to do the wave rather than watch the match. I don’t know who he is, but I definitely could have done without that.
O’Neil kept working over the left arm which built to Vinny’s comeback. Vinny got a couple of nearfalls and the crowd came back to life before Chuck ended up dropping Vinny to the floor with a springboard dropkick as he was standing on the apron. Back in the ring, Vinny got a couple of more nearfalls. Vinny was going for a finish before O’Neil hit a Michinoku Driver for a two count. O’Neil turned it into an armbar which Vinny fought, but Chuck rolled it into a triangle choke that Vinny eventually maneuvered out of.
The finish came when both men were up top and O’Neil went for a clothesline but missed and dropped himself over the top rope. Vinny then hit a Swanton Bomb for the victory.
I don’t say this to be destructive or negative, but I personally don’t think this match didn’t work for a few reasons. It went too long, it seemed like their offense didn’t click, and there was too much stalling in certain points. I think both guys are very talented, so perhaps it was just one of those nights.
MATCH SEVEN: Mike Gamble v. “Big Bacon” Brad Hollister
Hollister got on the mic and put himself over. It was an 80’s style promo that reminded me a little bit of the Boogie Woogie Man from NWA. He said he was the uncrowned King of Bethany, and ran down Flip Gordon and Donovan Dijak, who would be fighting over that crown later on.
This was an extended squash that highlighted Hollister. He had crisp, powerful offense and was impressive in throwing around the much larger Gamble.
WINNER: “Big Bacon” Brad Hollister
MATCH EIGHT: King of Bethany Crown On The Line – Travis “Flip” Gordon v. Donovan Dijak
Gordon is the current holder of the King of Bethany Crown.
They went at it on the floor early and Flip took to the air. In a REALLY scary moment, he went for a suicide dive through the ropes and caught his foot and went face down on the floor. He must have landed okay, because he was back up and at it right after. They fought at the top of the ramp and Gordon hit a fireman’s carry somersault slam that got a huge reaction. Dijak hit the Feast Your Eyes on the floor and was content to take the countout win, but Gordon came back in at 9. That was a rare case where the close call actually worked.
Maybe there was animosity or maybe both guys were fired up, but they were laying it in hard. This was a back and forth affair and it was athletic and very intense. Dijak no sold a kick, hit a huge chokeslam backbreaker followed by a moonsault for a nearfall that got the crowd out of their seats. They jumped out of their seats again off a nearfall from a Flip 450 splash. Then the roof almost came off when Dijak hit a twisting somersault plancha to the floor.
The finish came when Flip hit a slingshot 450 from the apron into the ring. Absolutely outstanding match. Gordon continues to improve at a great rate, and Dijak is in an unbelievable groove where he keeps having classic after classic. If you can find this one, make sure to watch it immediately.
WINNER: Travis “Flip” Gordon
MATCH NINE: NEW Tag Team Title Match – The Battle Brothers (Chris & Anthony) (c) v. Robbie E & Cam Zagami
The Battles are really big boys. Think the Natural Disasters.
This was a comedy match mostly, which was the perfect spot in the card for it, especially after that killer Dijak-Gordon classic.
Robbie and Cam did eventually cut the ring off on the babyfaces while still getting laughs from the crowd. This is the kind of comedy that works in a match because even though it plays for laughs, they’re main objective is to still try and win the match.
Both Zagami and Robbie E were unsuccessful with belt shot attempts, and Robbie E ate a huge spear for the finish. Good cooler match before the main event.
WINNERS: The Battle Brothers
MAIN EVENT: NEW Heavyweight Championship – Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Bobby Fish
Cody out to a huge reaction.
Great exchanges on the mat early on, followed by Fish getting the upper hand and working over Rhodes like a true professional. They went pure main event style here, making sure to take their time and let the crowd organically build without any major prompting.
Fish would work over the left knee of Rhodes and it would come into play throughout the match. Whenever Rhodes would make a comeback, the knee would hinder it and Fish would pounce. There was a “Fillet O’Fish” chant which may go down as one of the most unoriginal and embarrassing chants I’ve ever heard.
Fish was going for a knockout when Rhodes ducked, spit water in his eyes and hit the Cross Rhodes for a nearfall. Right in front of the ref. How is that legal? “It’s pro wrestling,” most would answer. Yeah, sure.
The finish came as Fish had Rhodes in a bridging leg lock and both men’s shoulders were down. The ref counted three and declared Rhodes the winner. From my vantage point, Fish was moving his shoulders, so it seemed like the finish should have been disputed. Fish did argue with the ref after the match. Rhodes got on the mic after the match and thanked Bobby for accepting his open challenge. He said he hopes Bobby comes back to “this wonderful place.” Maybe this sets up a rematch in the future. Otherwise, the finish was a little off.
Rhodes continued and said he would greet the fans after the show in the ring and thanked the crowd for coming out.
WINNER: Cody Rhodes
Overall, this was a very fun and well booked show. The promotion clearly has a loyal audience that knows all of the characters and has a fantastic time. The entire night breezed by which is always a sign of a really good show. I would definitely recommend Northeast Wrestling if they come to your area based on this card.
Check them out on Twitter @newwrestling1
Check me out @HelloCrockett
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