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Premiere Wrestling Xperience’s newest show dropped last night on the ol’ Highspots Network— fire it up and away we go!
AR Fox vs. James Drake vs. Jeff Lewis Neal (X16 Tournament Qualifying Match)
Feats of strength early on as Fox, Neal, and then Drake do push-ups of increasing difficulty. Fox then immediately starts flying, because of course he does. Some good HOSS slugfest action from Drake and Neal follows before Fox comes back in and fires off tope after tope.
And that continues to shape the match— Fox in and flying to take both guys out only to be removed as the other two engage in a good old-fashioned real life Godzilla fight. But Drake can fly, too, firing off a big dive of his own and taking a poison Frankensteiner from Fox before looking for a moonsault. It’s enough to finish Fox off but Neal steals the pin and when Drake steals it back Fox gets his wits about him.
Fox comes up empty on a 450 and heads to the outside. Big beautiful spinebuster from Neal as Drake is looking to drag Fox back in.
James Drake wins by pinfall with the Drill Bit, a double underhook guillotine lifted and spun into a rolling neckbreaker.
Fun opener, cleverly arranged to keep Fox in it but also out of it. and hits a huge cutter on Lude before he can get the whole Meteora!
Cassidy looking for a tombstone but Corino slips out and shoves him into the waiting arms of Coach Mikey for a big kiss!
Ugly Ducklings win by pinfall when Colby Corino hits a running front flip DDT on Tripp Cassidy.
These Ugly Ducklings trios matches are always a hoot and a half, and you put Team IOU on the other side and it has to add up to at least two whole hoots. Good match.
Jason Cade vs. Mason Maddox vs. Trevor Lee (X16 Tournament Qualifier Match)
Cade and Maddox pound on the Carolina Caveman to start here but Trevor comes back. Cade fires off a pair of dives, looking for a third and Maddox’s manager Tommy Thomas cuts him off. Maddox takes the lead, dumping Cade and beating Lee, including a nice snap basement DDT that cuts Trevor off from a comeback following a slap rush.
Cade tries to fly back in and Maddox cuts him right off and goes back to pounding on Trevor. Mason’s reign of terror ends when Cade manages to get a top rope headscissors off on him and it’s all the Jason Cade Show for a while. Trevor Lee sends Cade crashing to the outside in a clever way, pulling the top and middle ropes apart so he spills right through.
All three on their knees, trading blows. Maddox with a springboard tornado DDT for a nearfall on Lee, and then one-on-one with Cade. Meteora sends Maddox out and Lee clears house with a double stomp on Cade and a running apron kick to Maddox. Back to more Maddox/Lee one-on-one for a minute and...
Trevor Lee wins by pinfall with a jumping knee strike to Mason Maddox.
Good stuff, again well-structured to make the lesser-known dudes come off just as well as the national star, and any opportunity to see Jason Cade work is a good one.
Post-match, Tommy Thomas gets in Maddox’s face and tells him to get to the back for being a loser.
Jake Manning (c) vs. Joey Ryan (PWX World Heavyweight Championship)
After emotional, story driven world title matches the last two months, sometimes you just need a man squirting baby oil down his trunks. Joey does the lollipop gimmick, giving it to a woman wearing a Legalize Sleaze shirt in the front row before asking Manning to touch his penis. Manning consults the scouting manual before deciding that it is not okay to touch Joey Ryan’s penis.
Manning proceeds to grapple Ryan but breaks when Joey directs the waistlock down south. And so it goes, Ryan putting his best penis forward through a few grapples before finally forcing Manning to touch it. At which point, Caleb Konley and Zane Riley, the Revolt! come out. Manning begs off, genitals in hand, saying that he’s busy right now.
Riley says this is the problem with Manning, he won the title and went right back to being a goofy comedy guy, and the Revolt! make to depart. Manning fires back, saying that Joey Ryan flew all the way to California to have a shot at the PWX title, but as much as he enjoys wrestling Ryan, he’d rather get his hands on them. Ryan accepts his proposal for a tag team match, but Riley says they’ll take it, but not right now.
Manning and Ryan head to the back after the Revolt! and drag them back out, brawling around the ring, so it’s on, I suppose.
Jake Manning & Joey Ryan vs. the Revolt! (Caleb Konley & Zane Riley)
The tag proper starts with Konley and Riley whipped into each other. Riley goes for the ol’ Flip, Flop, & Fly but is foiled when he tries to go downstairs on Joey Ryan. The video blacks out for a second during a Meltzer Driver attempt on Konley but I’ll believe Manning did the flip! The Revolt! manage to cut Ryan off and abuse him a while, old-school phantom tags and all, until Joey manages to create some separation with a pumphandle suplex and get the tag.
Manning in with clotheslines and elbows before dropping the Revolt! two-for-one with a DDT/reverse STO. Looking for the piledriver but Konley fights out, back suplex clutch, tosses Konley away and catches him into a back suplex backbreaker/reverse STO combo, which is just swell. Riley cuts Manning off but Joey breaks it back open, looking for More Bang For Your Buck only for Revolt! to drop him with a low flapjack cutter.
Manning with a double blockbuster and things are getting desperate. Joey hits the YouPorn Plex on Konley, Manning follows with the deadlift piledriver but Riley breaks up the pin! Thumb in the bum on Manning, Riley takes it out and looks to jam it in Ryan’s mouth but Konley eats the stinky digit instead! Ryan pulls his spare lollipop out of his trunks and jams it in Riley’s mouth, but when he goes for the superkick Zane ducks and Manning eats the whole deal. Cannonball follow-up and...
The Revolt! win by pinfall following a Caleb Konley double jump moonsault on Jake Manning.
Solid comedy match on both counts, although maybe a bit long all things considered.
Anthony Henry vs. Matt Riddle
Match starts with a short promo from Henry putting Riddle over and congratulating him for switching away from that fake shit and into a legitimate sport like pro wrestling.
Grappling to start, Riddle looking for a Kimura, Henry for a cross armbar. Riddle shifts to the leg and Henry breaks. Some more grappling but they trade kicks after, Henry largely winning the exchange but Riddle getting the last laugh with a jumping knee strike. Rolling Karelin lifts,and the Bro is feeling it.
Henry with a TKO over the ropes! Huge suicide dive follows! Big fakeout victory lap but no payoff, Henry stopping short and tossing Riddle back in the ring. Riddle takes it back outside with a knee strike and lands the trademark baseball slide into slap to the face. Slingshot apron DDT goes south when Henry gets his foot caught up in the ropes.
Henry mocks Manning’s scout salute and drops Riddle on the bare floor with a deadlift piledriver. The Bro makes it back in at the last possible minute and they trade slaps. Henry wins the exchange and hits an Air Raid Crash only to get caught in the triangle looking for a diving followup. Henry reverses to a triangle of his own but Riddle escapes by way of a huge deadlift powerbomb.
Riddle with a Swanton, Henry gets the knees up, fires off big corner dropkicks but Riddle counters a suplex into his fisherman buster. Slap flurries, Henry hits the off-the-ropes German suplex! Looking for a Vertebreaker but Riddle flips out, Pele kick, GO TO SLEEP, DEADLIFT GERMAN!
Henry out of an O’Connor Roll into a Dragon sleeper Riddle slips out and looks for the Bromission only to get caught back into the Dragon sleeper. Chest kicks, Henry looking to finish it but Riddle catches him off the ropes and into the jumping tombstone piledriver! Riddle looking for a second tombstone off the turnbuckle but Henry counters it into a cutter and lands the Vertebreaker but it’s not enough!
Anthony Henry wins by submission with a Dragon sleeper.
Awesome match. The bit with the slingshot DDT was scary and put a bit of a hitch into the proceedings, but man, the triangle exchange, the Pele to GTS to German combo, the Dragon sleeper stuff in the final stretch, all great.
Andrew Everett vs. Joey Lynch vs. Tracer X (X16 Tournament Qualifier Match)
Joey Lynch opts out of the first part of the match, having a seat in the front row. Tracer X and Everett enjoy a bit of grappling before going into an exhibition of flips, at which point Lynch chooses to interject and eats a double dropkick.
Everett and X back to the grappling but Lee low bridges Everett out and takes his place. Tracer has a handle on it until Lynch cuts him off. Lynch and Everett in now and Everett clears him out. Feeling the crowd a moment and Tracer X charges behind him for a huge dive into Lynch, but Lynch has his wits about him and cuts Everett’s follow-up off with a kick from the apron.
Lynch with a poke to the eye, looking for a cheap win but Everett fights on, eventually shoving Lynch right into a springboard tornado reverse STO from Tracer X. They team up a moment, dumping Lynch back outside with kicks, but when Everett suggests tandem dives, it’s a ploy and he cuts X off at the ropes with a knee before hitting a twisting tope con giro on both men!
Joey Lynch with the fallaway Go To Sleep but X breaks the pin up. Back and forth, Lynch nearly lands one on Tracer X but X is a step ahead of him, catches the foot and hits an exploder suplex. Everett fumbles a leapfrog but recovers shortly, hitting a Falcon Arrow on Tracer X and eating a rolling elbow from Lynch, Blue Thunder Driver gets two. Everett heads up top but the shooting star press comes up empty...
Tracer X wins by pinfall with a 450 splash on Joey Lynch.
Another fun qualifier, probably the best of the three, and one that played nicely with the two-on-one stuff they’d teased with the previous two.
Elijah Evans IV vs. Ethan Case (Unsanctioned Last Man Standing Match)
Both men in street clothes, good form. Case stews a minute before charging in and Evans blinds him with a handful of powder! Evans tosses him outside and they have slug it out a while. Back in the ring Case turns the tide for the first time, just raining punches down on Evans in the corner. But of course, unsanctioned match, and Evans lays him out with a low blow in return.
A table now, Evans sets it up outside but it doesn’t come right into play. Case and Evans brawl back to the merch tables and Evans drops him through one with a standing Blue Thunder Driver! Evans drags Case over to the commentary desk and gets on mic for a second, yelling at Tommy Thomas about how he was the better half of Worst Case Scenario.
Case takes the opportunity to turn the tide and slams Evans’ face into another merch table. Drags him up the bleachers and hits a piledriver on the top step! That’s our first significant count of the match and Case follows right up by dragging him back to the ring. Evans slides right out and Case is looking for plunder. He gets two chairs out and Evans comes up behind him, wrenching his arm and yanking him face-first into the ringpost.
Case is bleeding pretty good now and Evans starts punching him in the face with his belt wrapped around his hand such that the buckle tears the wound open harder. Evans sets Case up in the tree of woe and stomps his chest in. Case stands defiant, flipping the bird and just about making it to his feet at the count of eight when Evans takes him back outside and throws him into chairs again and again.
Case won’t go down, so Evans gets frustrated and throws referee Kevin Pierce into chairs! DA Brewer comes out to check on him as Evans remembers the table and takes Case over to it. Up on the apron but Case nails Evans with a low blow in return for the shot he took earlier before. Evans’ security goons come down and block him before Case can chuck him into the table. Evans orders them to set them up and defies the rule of “he who smelt it, dealt it” by crashing through Case and the table with a diving elbow drop from the top!
One of the goons drags Kevin Pierce back in the ring and orders him to count Case out, but Case manages to get to his feet at nine! Elijah orders his goons to tear the ring down, exposing the planks! Evans looking for a piledriver but gets distracted by the crowd before heading back and hitting a jackhammer on the exposed boards. But Evans stops the count?!
Evans goes and gets a sledgehammer, he winds up hard and slams it down but Case moves out of the way! A cutter stops Evans cold and restarts the count, on both men! Tug of war over the sledgehammer and Case nails the best looking pro wrestling style sledgehammer shot I’ve ever seen. Case gets to his feet...
Ethan Case wins when Elijah Evans IV fails to meet the standing ten count.
Brutal main event. Always love when the ring gets dismantled, it’s one of my favorite things.
Overall
While I don’t think I enjoyed this one quite as much as Another Level or Scouts Honor, it was still a damn fine pro wrestling show. Henry/Riddle is probably my match of the night, but the three qualifiers and the Last Man Standing were all worthwhile matches. Head on over to Highspots and check it out, folks!