July 3rd, 2016 | Knights of Columbus in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
This is my third review of Ethan Page’s Alpha-1 Wrestling promotion. So far, the first two shows could be described in one word: fun. The shows move along at a brisk pace, feature some intriguing storylines and you get to see a cool mix of talent. In just two shows I’ve seen Carlito, Heidi Lovelace, Shane Douglas and Michael Elgin.
The opening video and theme of the show seems to a play off of the “Purge” film franchise.
Zero Gravity Championship: Alessandro Del Bruno w/ Ms. Chung def. Mike Bailey in 12:33
“Speedball” made quite the name for himself before a visa issue caused him to not be able to work in the US for five years. Del Bruno won the title at the previous show. Quick paced start and both guys laid in the stiff kicks. The crowd was way behind “Speedball.” Del Bruno suplexed Bailey into the corner for a near fall. Bailey came back with his signature aerial offense, including a moonsault knee drop and a springboard moonsault to the outside. Bailey connected on a big spinning tornado kick and a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. He went for a shooting star press but Bruno avoided it. The offensive moves got bigger as things progressed. Del Bruno caught him with a huge kick to the head and hit a big backbreaker for two. Bailey came back with a shooting star press but Ms. Chung interfered. With there being no rules, Bruno whacked Bailey with a briefcase for the win. Fun opening contest with a lot of action. Bailey was fun and Del Bruno has consistently been one of the highlights of each Alpha-1 show I’ve seen so far. ***¼
Josh Alexander and Selezyia Sparx came out and Josh cut a quick promo about introducing chaos into every match tonight. There will be various “Virus” members around the ring and they’ll pretty much be the people introducing weapons into the matches.
Ethan Page def. Cheeseburger in 15:20
Page brought a cheeseburger to the ring and asked Cheeseburger if they were related. Cheeseburger said it was his momma but Page found a pickle! He then stomped on it! THE BASTARD! Things got weird when Page wanted to taste Cheeseburger and even went to get ketchup and mustard. Cheeseburger got in a cheap shot and things got going. He looked like he was going to go for a dive onto a seated Page outside, but instead he stopped and went for a soft cross body off the apron. Page caught Cheeseburger and sat him down. He ran around the ring to charge up but ran into a chair shot. Page turned it around and ate another cheeseburger, which could have been Cheeseburger’s uncle. Cheeseburger hit a damn palm strike into the chair into Page’s face, which was pretty cool. Page got the win shortly after with the Head Shot onto a chair. A surprising mix of comedy and hardcore. Cheeseburger looked good and credible and part of it was because of the chair, which was smart. Another fun match. ***
Alpha-1 Tag Team Championship: Theory of Evolution (c) def. Tabarnak de Team (Thomas DuBois and Mathieu St. Jacque) in 10:28
After a short feeling out process, Space Monkey entered with nun chucks! SPACE NINJA MONKEY! It does nothing though because he’s quickly stopped. Space Monkey took the heat and the challengers proved themselves to be a straight forward manly duo. He eventually made the tag to Nye, who came in hot. DuBois managed to stop him in his tracks with a big nun chuck shot. Space Monkey slide a lightsaber to Nye! It doesn’t much though since it’s plastic. Monkey sprinboarded in but got caught in a double buckle bomb. Nye took a kendo stick to the side before a sitout powerbomb but somehow kicked out. Dubois made a mistake and nailed his partner with the kendo stick before getting nailed with nun chucks. The Rocket launcher finished it. The theme continues. This was enjoyable and wacky in the best way. **¾
Dick Justice def. Danny Orlando in 3:32
Dick Justice is now just a civilian while Orlando is an officer. Orlando attacked during Dick’s entrance. Once in the ring, Orlando planted a lengthy kiss on Justice and leaped into his arms. They ended up trading gum in the exchange. They did some more comedy with Dick running the ropes to get tired. He quickly won with a black hole slam. Comedy match that didn’t really feature enough actual wrestling to get a rating. As a comedy angle it seemed to work well. The crowd enjoyed it. NR
After the match, Orlando offered a handshake. Justice shook it but Orlando attacked. He cuffed Justice to the ropes and beat him up. The referee somehow had the power to suspend Orlando.
King of Hearts Tournament Qualifying Match: Cheech, Gavin Quinn and Justin Sane def. Alex Daniels, Brent Banks and Rickey Shane Page in 9:18
The winner gets into the following month’s tournament. This started as a calm match but then they remembered the show is under “purge” rules and all hell broke loose. While Cheech and Daniels worked in the ring, the other four men paired off on the outside. I believe the Cheech team are the babyfaces and they all busted out some sweet dives. Quinn’s corkscrew moonsault was certainly a highlight. Chairs and a ladder got brought into play. It led to Page taking a tower of doom spot onto the ladder. That ladder didn’t look like it had any give. Like, it really looked painful. Everybody brought out some nice offense towards the finish before Quinn beat Banks with a short superkick. A chaotic match that picked things back up after the previous bout. It fit right into the purge theme. ***
Rickey Shane Page went nuts and beat up all five guys with various weapons. Gregory Iron has to come out and force feed RSP pills to get him to stop.
Kobe Durst def. David Starr in 12:20
Durst has arguably been the MVP of the Alpha-1 shows I’ve seen so far. Starr came out firing and hit some tope suicidas instantly. His final dive outside was less impressive though. They brawled outside a bit before taking it inside. Durst delivered a vicious sounding chop but Starr was unfazed and fired back. Starr goes to the weapons first, bringing a chair into play. He hits him in the ribs with it twice though he seemed uncomfortable with it. He then pulled a Steve Corino and applied a chinlock while sitting on the chair. Durst got hot and they went into a big exchange of forearms. Durst got two on a Fameasser onto the chair. They didn’t do a great Yoshi tonic spot. Durst nailed an elbow and step up enziguri before winning via piledriver. This was going very well but had some sloppy moments that held it back. I do feel like Durst has all the makings of a breakout star. ***
Alpha Male Championship: Heidi Lovelace (c) def. Selezyia Sparx and Veda Scott in 9:05
No offense to Kobe Durst but I take back what I said earlier. Lovelace has been the MVP recently. I also have a huge crush on Veda Scott. Sparx and Scott attacked Lovelace while she was introduced. She wrapped her legs around the ring post and bashed it with a chair. Sparx and Veda quickly turned on one another. Sparx hit a buckle bomb and Scott hit a great Russian leg sweep variation. Sparx put Lovelace in a Gory special and worked a camel clutch on Scott at the same time. She broke it up to slam Lovelace on Scott. Scott and Lovelace traded some sweet suplexes but Sparx came in and took them both over with a rather ugly double Northern lights suplex. A Virus member brought a table into play. Scott got Sparx on her shoulders but could barely hold her. Lovelace tried a super double knee drop through it but Sparx missed the table and hit her head hard. The table spot goes to Veda instead as she took a powerbomb through it for two. Veda came back and poured out thumbtacks! It backfired because Lovelace planted her with an STO onto the tacks. A senton off the top finished it off. This was on pace to be the best match of the night. Things got a little off when the weapons started coming into play and some moves didn’t come off the way they should have. It was still good and major props to Veda for the tack spot. ***¼
Josh Alexander and Kobe Durst def. Ethan Page and Scotty O’Shea in 28:09
Alexander and O’Shea had to choose mystery partners, leading to Page and Durst. Page and Alexander have a history as a tag team for years. They immediately brawled and Page whacked Durst with a keyboard. This just continued to be a war. There were ring bells bashed into private areas, a double stomp onto a table, and the inclusion of trash cans and ladders. Things finally got back to the ring and Alexander blocked Page’s Head Shot, playing off of their history. He sent Page back first onto a chair. O’Shea hit a sick Lethal Injection type move with a chair wrapped around Alexander’s head. The heels took over but O’Shea seemed to save things only to get hit with the keyboard. O’Shea took a DVD through a table but Page broke up the pin. Page and Alexander went at it, again showing how well they know each other. Page back body dropped him onto two open chairs to win that exchange. Durst got involved with a ladder, but took a fall away slam through it in the corner! The carnage continued and two tables got set up in the ring. Durst got up on one with a fallen O’Shea. Page came off the top with the Head Shot and they went through the second table. Alexander then hit O’Shea with a moonsault but the table didn’t break. Page and Alexander ended up trading blows and Alexander had it won. He brought in a Virus member. It is revealed to be Page’s friend, Joey Kings. He elbows Page and Alexander wins with the tombstone. A wild war that fit the billing of the main event of a show like this. I do think it went a bit too long, clocking in at nearly a half hour. ***
The beating continued after the bell. Space Monkey, Heidi Lovelace and other faces came down but also got beat up. Lovelace got powerbombed onto O’Shea on a table. Page got on the microphone and wanted to fight but knew he was outnumbered. He challenged Kings to a match at the show in August. He also announced that he is bringing in Matt Riddle to face Alexander because Virus will not win this war.
Overall: 7/10. From a match rating standpoint, this would probably be a bit below the other Alpha-1 shows I watched. However, I have to commend it for again being an easy watch and for being just a fun show. The purge idea is really cool, though the weapons in matches did become a bit diminished over time. However, the story advancement and angle work continues to be a highlight. I’m three shows in and I’m very invested in the Virus storyline, I pull for Lovelace each time out, Del Bruno continues to deliver, etc.
