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NORTHEAST WRESTLING STUDIO WARS EPISODE 5 ON HIGHSPOTS WRESTLING NETWORK REPORT

Northeast Wrestling "NEW Studio Wars: Episode 5"
Taped in Rhode Island.
Available Now at www.HighspotsWrestlingNetwork.com

PREVIOUSLY ON "NEW STUDIO WARS" - 

This is the fifth episode of Northeast Wrestling's STUDIO WARS, a weekly wrestling program that can be found on the Highspots Wrestling Network. Paul Crockett, Jon Roy & Dexter Lou are your commentary team.

Match 1: "The American Sumo" Mike Gamble vs Love, Doug

Love, Doug is back in a shower of rose petals and smooches to the camera. Gamble is looking to make it 3 for 3 on good matches at Studio Wars. Doug watches to teach Gamble the art of love. Instead, Gamble meets him with a flying kick, avalanche splashes, back drop and a running senton. Doug rakes the eyes to evade a Samoan drop and staggers the big man with a dropkick and running double knees. Throwing stomps in the corner but Love Doug can't stop giving love to the camera. Sumo throws him off the top and slaps the heck out of him. Samoan Drop and Gamble drags him to the corner to hit a Banzai Drop for the pin.

Winner: Mike Gamble

Love is dead. Well, not really but he was definitely down for three. Gamble's intensity has been awesome all season, this was no different. Good showing for Sumo. As an annoying punching bag for more established talent, Love Doug is definitely looking good there but I'm waiting to see him with a dance partner that properly compliments and works with his character side more.

Match 2: Basic Becca vs Little Mean Kathleen

Kathleen is a bundle of energy. Becca tries to control the arm but gets reversed repeatedly until Becca just decks her. Kathleen with a series of quick pin attempts. Kathleen with a head scissors and suplex for two. Becca rakes the eyes and hits a big back kick to the face for a near fall. Becca drags her up for a huge X-Factor for another two. Kathleen firing back with chops to the chest but Becca blasts her down with a forearm. Popup victory roll by Kathleen for two. Becca is frustrated and hits a big side slam for two. Becca just slamming her opponent's face into the mat over and over, big boot and a pin attempt. Series of flying back elbows to the corner and a tumble across the ring to deliver a huge slap. Kathleen backpacks herself on Becca to wear her down. High cross body from the top and Becca kicks out. Becca looks to be setting up a powerbomb but Kathleen slips it and hits a bulldog off the corner for the win!

Winner: Little Mean Kathleen  

The first and only time I saw Kathleen, she had a 5-second squash against Anthony Greene so it was great to see her in a more traditional format that let her showcase skills. Becca was good as the dismissive heel who got frustrated with Kathleen's energy through the contest.  Pretty competitive back and forth match here.  

Throwback Match: Dan Maff(c) vs Keith Youngblood (for the NEW Heavyweight Championship)

This is a flashback to February of this year, the last time the NEW Heavyweight Championship was defended. Maff comes running during his own introduction but Youngblood has it scouted. High crossbody for two. Maff rolls out but Youngblood meets him on the floor. Maff rolled back in but he walks off to dodge a second crossbody and hits a senton to take back control of his first title defense. Another trio of sentons sets the champ up to punish his opponent with chops, stomps and even biting him at one point. The crowd really wants to get behind Maff but Danny does a good job shutting that down before a corner cannonball. Youngblood stuns Maff and heads back to the top but the champ catches him with a cutter for two. Maff taunting on the corner , Youngblood hits a backstabber and fires up ahead. Stinger splash but a second attempt is cut in half by a Dan Maff spear. Maff misses a finishing elbow drop but Youngblood can't do more than get space to keep breathing. Maff with a pair of rainmakers but Youngblood keeps kicking out. Maff with a piledriver. Kick out! Maff is frustrated that this kid will not die and goes looking for plunder. Ref gets in Maff's face over that which allows Youngblood to roll Maff through into a superkick and pin attempt. Youngblood thought it was three and turns back to the champ, who blasts him with a chair for the DQ.

Winner: Keith Youngblood (by DQ)

Maff continues the assault by chair before ejecting the challenger from his ring, to the jeering of the crowd. Classic heel champ moves. Youngblood fires up as Maff celebrates and takes the chance to batter Maff with a chair repeatedly, sending him over the top with a running chair shot. Locker room empties to break up the fight. Maff is held back but Youngblood is swinging metal at anyone who crosses the ropes. Good stuff here. Maff COULD have won that match through normal means but opted to keep his title through shortcuts and save time. I suspect these two have a followup in the future sometime when we get back to real shows but it'll have to be a no-DQ plunderfest for Youngblood to reasonably have a chance here against the monster heel champ.

Main Event: Christian Casanova(c) vs "Big Bacon" Brad Hollister (for the NEW Live Championship)

Here it is! The main event we have been working to all season. Casanova kicked off this series and he's going to close it out against the man who has been on a warpath, destroying last week's main event in a bid to get a shot at the NEW Live Championship. Bacon comes running in for the kill but the champ with a springboard clothesline. Bacon wants a german but Casanova flips into a superkick. Hollister starts throwing shots and those finally get the better of his opponent. Hollister with a running hip attack and high velocity whip to the corner. High angle germans from the big man but the champ kicks out. Bacon wearing Casanova down on the mat. Casnova escapes and goes for a springboard but Bacon catches him with a spinning slam and senton for two. Back up, Casanova sticking and moving and staggers Bacon with shots. Big slam and Casanova gets his first solid pin attempt of the contest. Casanova with a pair of Dirty Diana tilt-a-whirl armbreakers. He wants a third but Hollister catches it into a camel clutch. Casanova gets space and throws a knee but the challenger pops him up into a powerbomb for two. Big chop crumbles the champ but he's resilient to throwing defiant upkicks. Casanova with a double underhook slam for two. Bacon is mad but walks into a code breaker and twisting cutter that keeps him down for the count.

Winner (and stiiiilllll Champ): Christian Casanova

Good payoff! Hollister gets his chance to work a longer form match on the show and does not waste the chance against Casanova. Casanova looked resilient and scrappy against the aggressive challenger.

The show closes with a message to NEW fans stating that due to increased state regulations, their Studio Wars filming schedule has been put on hold for the time being but they plan to get back to it as soon as possible. In the meantime, they will be kicking off a new "Best Of" series on the Highspots Network, starting NEXT WEEK.
This first episode will be: The Best of Jushin "Thunder" Liger! :D

And that's it for episode 5 (and the series as a whole, for right now). Thankfully, they had a good final match on the taping to close this arc out. This was probably the best range of matches to feature on the final ep: A high-profile squash, a showcase for younger stars, a throwback to their heavyweight title picture and a great main with two guys that are killers on the Northeast indies. Though I do hope they come back with more content so I can see that worm, that obvious sleaze, that slime in a suit coat, that Jared Silberkleit get a little comeuppance in a future episode. But a man can dream. By the way, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the solid commentary by Paul Crockett and Jon Roy throughout the series. I look forward to hearing them (and whatever friend of the week is at the table) in episodes to come.

NEW "Best Of" starts next week. NEW "Studio Wars" returns eventually, hopefully soon. Until then!

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