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The Wrestling REVOLVER was back home in Clive, Iowa at the Horizon Event Center for "Ready Or Not!". All REVOLVER titles are on the line, a first-time-ever match or two and a celebrity match.
Bork Torkelson and Veda Scott on commentary. So there was a lot of over talking and screaming like every fall is a false finish.
Opening match saw "All Night Long" Rich Swann (still coming out to "No Hands" by Waka Flocka) face "The Inevitable" Ace Austin. Before the match, Austin wished his Glamanager, Gia Miller (who had every crumb of cakes out. That thang looked heavy), a happy birthday. Swann gave them a second but started hot with a dropkick before the celebration was over, possibly reflecting his new attitude since linking up with AJ Francis this week on TV in TNA. He worked completely heel (and commentary definitely wasn't selling him as one) but with some edge, putting Austin on the back foot early. Good opener with a simple finish. Austin hit a good kick on Swann and as Swann came back at him, Austin with The Fold neckbreaker. Austin with some good sportsmanship but Swann wasn't feeling it and walked off, frustrated.
On the entire other end of the spectrum from the opener, Jake Something of The Unit beat the "Main Event Monster" Fulton in a Hoss Fight. The Unit leader, JT Dunn, introduces Something to get the crowd heated (in case they missed Jake's turn at the previous event in Dayton). Fulton's normally the heel here but with Something now a member of the Unit and Fulton's manager, "Drama King" Matthew Rehwoldt absent, not this time. I liked this a lot. Something wins with The Void spinning Bossman slam.
In a compelling match up, TNA star "Speedball" Mike Bailey faced AEW wrestler "The Problem" Marina Shafir, a classic match up of a striker (who can grapple) vs a submission artist (who can strike). This was some good stuff. Back and forth stiff action from both stars. There's a armbreaker/counter roll up exchange late that might have blown up the ref! He earned bonus keeping up with them. Bailey makes a tactical mistake in grappling with Shafir and gets trapped in her Mother's Milk head and neck crank and has to tap out. Shafir has to catch herself for a second as there was a glimmer that she was overcome by the moment as they get a standing ovation in what is probably her best match to date.
They move quickly to the first title match of the night as the Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) faced a reunited Samuray del Sol and Lince Dorado (formerly 2/3 of the WWE's Lucha House Party), now known as Good Lucha Things (and I think I heard them announced as the Luchadorables, which is too cute). I don't know where the Luchas found that old classic WCW theme but I popped internally. Another good match. GYV were cooking with the Luchas fighting back hard. Looked like the GYV were to retain when they delivered a spike piledriver to del Sol on the floor and had unmasked Dorado and setting up for their Grit Your Teeth double codebreaker finish when del Sol trips up Gibson and Dorado ranas Drake into a pinning position for the win while still covering his face with his hands. NEW CHAMPS! I don't think any titles change as frequently as the REVOLVER tag titles.
"The Indy God" Matt Cardona (with Steph de Lander) lost a No Disqualification match to the star of 2019 film "Robert Jewell" Paul Walter Hauser. They worked hard but this wasn't for me at all. I was not the target audience. I had to search to see if PWH had been in anything I had seen and liked (he had). In his second match ever, he's going toe to toe with a former World, World tag team and Intercontinental champion, even kicking up like John Cena Omega. Cardona seemed to finally have the match when Hauser is saved by Cardona's multi company rival and surprise to everyone, Bully Ray. Ray powerbombs Cardona through flaming table and Hauser covers him for the win. After the match, Hauser challenges WR owner Sami Callihan for Wrestlecon's Mark Hitchcock Memorial Show as part of the WrestleMania weekend activities on April 5. Sami comes out quickly and accepts and leaves.
They then spend way too much time giving table fragments and stuff with fans. This should have been done during intermission, folks.
Gringo Loco won the vacant Remix title in a Scramble match over New Japan/TNA star Kevin "The Jet" Knight (who looked spectacular), a new-look "Warhorse" Jake Parnell, "The Young GOAT" Myron Reed (also spectacular), "Firestarter" Jake Crist (with His Boy, Bobby) and Damian Chambers (with Kayla Kassidy).
This followed a profanity laced promo from Crash Jaxon, promising to be back from his injury. This was busy. A lot of dives to the floor. A LOT. A lot of everything, including healthy doses of interference by Bobby and Kassidy. A bit long for me but Loco got Chambers alone and delivered his Base God spinning powerbomb from the top rope for the win and the title (vacated by Alex Shelley when he won the heavyweight title). It was fine.
REVOLVER champion Alex Shelley defended the title against the only 2 time former champion, JT Dunn of the Unit (with Jake Something ringside). I wondered how they would work their two top heels against each other and both buried Iowa in (more) profanity laced promos. Former Unit manager Phil Stamper tries to make amends but is rebuffed. Good match for how long it lasted. It was weird watching Shelley play to the crowd after having cussed those same people out 3 min before. Stamper comes out to distract Dunn, allowing Shelley to hit him with the title belt and retain. Needed a lot more time. How about cutting back on the long winded, cursing promos so your top title match can have time?
RED (Riches Equal Death--Steve Maclin, Killer Kelly, Alex Colon and Rickey Shane Page) defeated the Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner, the 1 Called Manders, and Matthew Justice) and Masha Slamovich in a Elimination Games match, a type of War Games match but not in a cage. Entrants come in every 90 second after a 3 min opening round and they're all allowed to bring one signature weapon. Eliminations can occur at any point in the match. This went a long time and they had every conceivable hardcore/plunder item you can imagine. They had stuff I had no idea what they were, just that they had sharp edges or points. It got down to Alex Colon and Manders. Maclin ran back in to help and that brought Warner back out to even the odd, with the SGC guys cornering Colon atop a scaffold. I was hoping--literally screaming at my tv "NOOOOO!"--that this thing I saw unfolding slowly wouldn't happen but it did. Warner turned on Manders, allowing Colon to his a Spanish Fly off the scaffolding through a pane of glass and table in the ring to secure the win. They went to black with Warner looking crazed on top of the scaffolding.
It was a tale of two cities: a great wrestling show to start with a lot of everything else right before, with all the cursing you can buy.
Roughly half of it was one of the best shows so far this year for me and then...it went left and was massively overbooked. Not really bad in anyway as much as cliche.
The Real Uncle Dave grade: B (86 out of 100)
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