WWN Supershow Mercury Rising 2019 recap & review: Yamashita wins the Shine title, Allin gives Briggs his blessing, and big boys do big boy things

The show kicks off about ten minutes after the scheduled bell time with Lenny Leonard and “Hardcore Giant” Ron Niemi in the ring to welcome us to the show.

Absolute Andy vs. Anthony Henry (c) (FIP World Heavyweight Championship)

Andy using his strength early to push the champ around, with a test of strength, with a headlock, but Henry’s able to use his grappling wiles to carve out a space to work. Turning up the speed, Absolute nails him repeatedly with shoulder blocks until Anthony dropkicks his leg out from under him! Dropkick right on the button, Henry fired up and the fight goes to the floor whereupon Andy throws him into the damn post!

Pressing the attack, targeting the injured back and just absolutely pasting the Lethal Lover with chops before decking him with a punch right to the dome! Henry rallies, an enzuigiri gets him back in the fight and he catches AA in the ropes for a dragon screw! More leg kicks, an enzuigiri sends Andy to the floor where Anthony hammers him with a Penalty Kick!

Absolute keeps it together, chop and a shove into the post, back suplex into the apron, fired up, Henry fights out of a powerbomb lift and hits a double stomp, off the ropes, suicide dive lands right on the button! Dropkick to the knee, spinning toehold denied, Penalty Kick into a double stomp to the leg and Henry’s got the ankle lock in! Looking for a German suplex, denied, float over, sunset flip and right back into the ankle lock!

AA posts and rolls through, back suplex connects this time and he sets Henry up in the corner... HENRY SHRUGS OFF THE AVALANCHE FRANKENSTEINER AND GOES FOR A CROSSBODY! Caught, float over, off the ropes, spinning spinebuster... NOPE! Andy up top... NO WATER IN THE POOL FOR THE MOONSAULT! Anthony slides low, the ankle lock reapplied in the middle of the ring but Absolute is able to kick him away!

Tornado DDT follows, only two, double stomp comes up empty and AA snaps a superkick off... NOT ENOUGH! Fireman’s carry... HENRY REVERSES A TKO INTO AN ARM-TRAP CROSSFACE! ANDY REACHING, STRETCHING, THE LETHAL LOVER CHANGES GEARS, ANKLE LOCK... IT’S OVER!

Anthony Henry wins by submission with an ankle lock to retain the FIP World Heavyweight Championship.

This got to be quite good by the end of it, with Henry’s will to victory in full effect, grabbing whatever body part is offered to get the win and retain his title, but the beginning felt a bit slow and disjointed. Good stuff overall and a solid opener for sure. Anthony Henry’s vicious streak continues to delight!

Shotzi Blackheart rolls up before our contract eliminator and demands a spot in the match for equality! Get ‘em, ma’am!

Anthony Greene vs. Barrett Brown vs. Colby Corino vs. Cyrus Satin vs. Harlem Bravado vs. John Silver vs. Shotzi Blackheart (WWN Contract Elimination Match)

Shotzi takes Satin out and eliminates him with a DDT immediately!

The ring clears, Greene and Brown jockeying for position, all colors, Barrett out, Corino in, ducking and dodging, huge springboard knee takes AG out! Silver biels Colby across the ring repeatedly! Lawn Dart, German suplex, running knne and Barrett’s in to fight John. Kick combo, uppercut in the corner, basement dropkick and the ring is clear save for Blackheart!

Charging scorpion kick, duck a lariat, kick and knee, springboard Frankensteiner! Hesitation senton! DIVING SENTON TO THE FLOOR, EAT IT BOYS! Brown has a senton of his own before taking Silver inside and going strike for striek with the Meat Man! Johnny with the German suplex into the superkick, cutthroat lungblower... NOT ENOUGH! Green in, crucifix driver variant... NOPE!

Shotzi in, running knee into a DDT out of the corner and Corino hits a half nelson backbreaker into a half nelson suplex... BLACKHEART WILL NOT BE DENIED! AG with a running knee, Colby kicks out! Harlem with Corino on his shoulders, stacking Brown up, Silver underneath... HE GERMAN SUPLEXES ALL THREE MEN! Greene in, John boots him away and scoops Blackheart up for a swinging fireman’s carry neckbreaker!

Flip senton to the floor, knees for everybody, the Meat Man running wild as he perches, frog splash, Colby scoops him up...

Colby Corino eliminates John Silver by pinfall with a schoolboy and a handful of tights.

Blackheart getting into it with Brown, slapping him across the face and he scoops her up, she floats over, running enzuigiri sets him up, she throws him into the corner for the Tiger feint kick! Up top...

Shotzi Blackheart eliminates Barrett Brown by pinfall with a diving senton.

Corino and Bravado with an impromptu team, double suplex but Shotzi kicks out! Greene in, forearms for everybody, he dumps Colby to the floor and the next thing I know Blackheart’s flip piledriving Bravado! Forearms for Colby, duck a lariat, pick the leg, cloverleaf applied! Corino’s got nowhere to go as Shotzi pulls back on it and he manages to throw her off right into...

Harlem Bravado eliminates Shotzi Blackheart by pinfall with Straight Cash, Homie.

Bravado with a back suplex, Greene with a neckbreaker, chopping away at Corino, Colby nearly gets it with a small package, AG superkick, underhooks, step-up...

Anthony Greene eliminates Colby Corino by pinfall with a step-up Killswitch.

Harlem hammering at Anthony, jawing at him, the Retrosexual fires back shot for shot and they slug it out! Looking for the Killswitch again, blocked, Bravado with a rising uppercut, Tower of London... NOPE! Bravado dumps Greene into the apron... DOUBLE STOMP TO THE FLOOR! Back inside, crossleg sheerdrop brainbuster for two! Underhooks, roll through, only two! Underhooks, turn him around, step up...

Anthony Greene wins, last eliminating Harlem Bravado by pinfall with his step-up Killswitch to earn a WWN contract.

So this was fun! I wish Shotzi had won or at least made it through to the finals-- honestly I didn’t realize how friggin’ powerful it’d be to see a woman fighting a bunch of men for a contract from my favorite wrestling promotion until it actually happened and it’s a bit of a shock to me what a bummer it was to see her get eliminated.

But it was a really good elimination scramble and she got to make more eliminations than anybody except eventual winner Anthony Greene, so I’ll live. And Greene is definitely a guy I’m happy to see more of, so this all works out pretty well in the end. But I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Shotzi Blackheart in Evolve specifically or intergender competition in general.

Mercedes Martinez interrupts and asks Allysin Kay if she thinks she can keep ducking her after missing their title match last month, claiming to miss a flight. AK says she did but Martinez says talk is cheap and she hopes she prepared for their match in June because she ain’t ducking her anymore and next time she sees her, she’s gonna kick her face in!

Allysin Kay (Shine) vs. Miyu Yamashita (TJPW) (Shine Championship / TJPW Princess of Princess Championship)

Grappling early, Yamashita getting a guillotine choke briefly but Kay fights out and they stalemate. Slugging it out, forearm for forearm and chop for chop and leg kick for leg kick! Miyu takes her back down, thinking hammerlock but Allysin reverses into a sleeper hold! She can’t quite get all of it and the Pink Striker reverses again, wrenching back on her leg!

Trading chops again, AK locks a Japanese stranglehold on but Yamashita’s able to get out and post her knee into the mat! Playing it safe, Kay rolls around and grabs a heel hook, which leads Miyu to grab one of her own as they play a game of heel hook chicken! Allysin with kicks to the face, cover for one, and then we go back to slugging it out until both women end up down and out after stereo kicks!

Backbreaker countered with a sunset flip, devastating lariat gets two! AK recovers, jockeying for position, roundhouse lays the TJPW champ out... NOPE! Kudo Driver... CAN’T PUT THE PINK STRIKER AWAY! Fireman’s carry into the Michinoku driver... AK KICKS OUT! Buzzsaw roundhouse kick, off the ropes, sidestep the boot, strike rush, backfist, nobody home on the charge!

Everest German suplex... STILL NO! Reverse roundhouses, two of ‘em, Miyu sinks the hooks in, judo throw into an Anaconda Vise... WRENCHING IT FORWARD... REFEREE AUBREY EDWARDS CALLS IT!

Miyu Yamashita wins by referee stoppage to retain the TJPW Princess of Princess Championship and win the Shine Championship!

This was a great match, an excellent back and forth of grappling and striking that escalated to a nicely feverish pitch and a sufficiently shocking WrestleMania weekend title change!

Post-match a furious Allysin Kay repeatedly attacks Yamashita and is pulled off by referees!

Miyu gets on the mic and cuts a promo, offering AK a trip to Japan with the obvious subtext that she should come and get her title back, which just gets Allysin angrier at ringside!

Austin Theory & Brandi Lauren vs. Darby Allin & Priscilla Kelly

All-out brawling to start, taking it out on each other on the floor and Allin and Kelly take control. TPK hammering Lauren with kicks to the back in the ropes, hanging her up in them and surfboarding her as long as she can before making a cover and getting two. Theory back in the ring, taking control and choking Darby out before hammer whipping him across the ring!

Pressing the attack, battering Allin while Brandi keeps Priscilla at bay. Darby fires back with palm strikes and with the referee distracted Lauren gets a low blow and Theory knocks Allin out with a punch... NOPE! TPK back in and fired up, stomping a mudhole in Brandi Lauren and hitting a cannonball off the apron into Austin! The match breaks down...

Austin Theory & Brandi Lauren win by pinfall with a neckbreaker from Lauren on Priscilla Kelly.

This definitely happened. I mean it was a fun enough brawl, but this story has just petered out so hard that I had a hard time focusing enough to recap it, let alone form a cogent opinion, especially having seen word that Darby Allin is done in Evolve.

Post-match, Theory goes for Ataxia but Josh Briggs clears him off! Briggs helps Allin up and Darby tells him to go get the title before heading off into the sunset with Priscilla Kelly.

Team wXw (Alexander James, Jurn Simmons, & Marius Al-Ani) vs. the Unwanted (Eddie Kingston, Joe Gacy, & Shane Strickland)

All-out brawling to start, the match settles down with Al-Ani and Gacy trading shocking athleticism. James and Strickland, Shane slips out, but Alexander picks his leg and goes to work, stomping and stretching, cradle exploder suplex! Marius with a dive, Kingston back inside, the Crown double team him with a flapjack uppercut for one! Working Eddie over, Colby Corino runs interference and the Unwanted turn things around on Al-Ani with a series of maneuvers in short order!

Working the Shotgun Champion over at length, Strickland going to town on his arms, Gacy and Kingston running double-teams, and eventually Al-Ani gets a DDT and the tag! Massive Jurn Simmons in, runnign hot with lariats, bellowing like a beast of war as he press slams Shane into his tag partners! Double chokeslams for all three members of the Unwanted! Shotgun dropkick into a cover but the tag champs make the save!

The match breaks down, Marius with a kip-up into an exploder, another nearfall! Going for a Frankensteiner, Kingston reverses to the powerbomb neckbreaker and Strickland makes the cover... NOPE! Into the “everybody do something cool” part of the match but it’s all lariats and everybody’s down and out when it’s over! James fending them off by himself as best he can, countering a handspring from Gacy into a short armscissor!

Referee Jake Clemons forces a break because Joe isn’t legal and Alexander sizes Strickland up only to get back body dropped to the apron! Marius in, jumping kick, Swerve off the apron, stomp to the floor, up top... SWERVE STOMP! Picking Al-Ani’s arm... HE BROKE IT! JML DRIVER! IT’S OVER!

The Unwanted win by pinfall with a JML Driver from Shane Strickland on Marius Al-Ani.

I was a little disappointed to see both Lucky Kid and Bobby Gunns replaced by the Crown due to injury but this match was good regardless. Just a nice chaotic six-man tag team match in the finest tradition.

JD Drake (c) vs. Kazusada Higuchi (WWN Championship)

Testing strength, neither man able to force the either to budge and Higuchi appreciates the challenge! Shoulder blocks, Drake knocks him down! A dropkick sends the champ to the floor and they paste each other out there, chop after chop! Pop-up haymaker connects, JD high fives a fan before throwing Kazusada back inside and hitting the senton! Knee to the big splash, only two!

Back to the chops, sounding like frozen steaks being thrown at tin foil and a sliding lariat gets Drake two! Higuchi running hard with lariats, clubbing away, powerslam on the Blue Collar Badass... NOPE! Shining Wizard... THE EX SUMO AIN’T DOWN YET! Back to trading chops, hammering with abandon, neither man giving an inch! Finally had enough, up and over, Higuchi with a shove and a big lariat... NOT ENOUGH!

Off the ropes, stereo lariats, they keep throwing them and end up exhausted and leaning into each other! Backfist from Drake! He catches a hand and drops Kazusada with a lariat, Drill Bit... HIGUCHI FINDS THE WILL TO KICK OUT! Headbutt, gutwrench, Doctor Bomb... JAMES DAMN DRAKE KICKS OUT! Going for a second... DRAKE REVERSES TO A FRANKENSTEINER! Kick to the gut, Stunner!

Another Stunner! A third Stunner sends Higuchi springing away into the corner for the cannonball! Headed up top...

JD Drake wins by pinfall with the diving moonsault to retain the WWN Championship.

Holy crap I thought this match was going to be good but I didn’t think it was going to be THIS good! Super compelling, every second pure visceral violent excitement... the chops, the drama, the CHOPS! Two big lads doing big lad things in the best possible way. Fantastic.

Colby Corino jumps Drake post-match and the champ runs him off easy enough but the rest of the Unwanted aren’t far behind and they lay the champion out! Strickland pins his near arm and grabs the far one as a defiant JD tells him to go screw... SHANE BREAKS HIS ARM AND HOLDS THE WWN CHAMPIONSHIP UP HIGH!

JD refuses assistance as he draws himself up one-armed and leaves with the title.

DAMNATION (Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, & Tetsuya Endo) vs. the Skulk (Adrian Alanis, AR Fox, & Leon Ruff)

Endo and Fox to start, fast-paced right from the jump and I apologize in advance because there’s no way I’m gonna be able to keep up with this, folks. Stalemate off a pair of kip-ups, shift to Sasaki and Ruff, Daisuke cutting corners and generally disrespecting Leon, taking his best forearms and just raking his eyes! Ruff fires up and turns the heat on, before taging Alanis in for a black hole backbreaker / neckbreaker tandem that gets a two count!

Quick tags, working Sasaki’s arm over and he begs for a time-out! Fox offers a hand and kicks him in the damn face! Off the ropes, tripped up, Daisuke gets an opportunity and DAMNATION make their move! Takao legal for the first time, they work AR over and clear the apron of Skulk members the second Fox looks to make good his escape. Springboard into stereo Ace Crushers and Ruff is legal!

Missile dropkick, flying forearms on Soma, Finlay Roll into a standing moonsault for two! Up top, Sasaki knocks Ruff to the floor and the DDT boys press the attack! AR going for the guillotine leg drop on the apron but Takao dodges out of the way! DAMNATION working Ruff over, pumphandle backbreaker from Sasaki for two but Leon never stops fighting, going forearm for forearm with Takao!

Finally a tag to Alanis, the big man hot and brawling on the floor before heading inside to beat Sasaki down! Corner to corner on Daisuke and Soma and he shotgun dropkicks one into the other before hitting a huge spinning spinebuster for two! Sasaki with a crucifix pin, into a crossface, both other members of DAMNATION have submission holds on and Adrian steps up to his feet... DEATH VALLEY DRIVER PUTS SASAKI INTO ONE OF HIS TEAMMATES!

Discus lariat, drawing Daisuke up... TIGER DRIVER CAN’T PUT HIM AWAY! Ruff with a German suplex, Fox add the senton atomico... ENDO MAKES THE SAVE! Sasaki with a Codebreaker, holding on as Takao adds a double stomp, tag to Tetsuya for a springboard lariat! Double whip, sidestep the charge, double leg, catapult into a boot, double stomp off the top... NOPE!

Elbows to block, enzuigiri, the match breaks down and the Skulk take flight! Alanis considers his position, off the ropes... BIG MAN SUICIDE DIVE BUT DAMNATION SCATTER AND HE ONLY TAKES HIS OWN TEAMMATES OUT! Endo with a roundhouse kick, lining him up... CORKSCREW ASAI MOONSAULT! Back inside, Argentine backbreaker rack, spin out in to the powerbomb... STILL NO!

Fox is alive, cutting Tetsuya off, Pele kick, Endo turns it around, fireman’s carry on the second rope, facing the floor... DEATH VALLEY DRIVER *INTO* THE TOP ROPE! WHAT IN THE HELL?! Inside with Adrian, he drops a backbreaker rack into a Codebreaker but Endo reverses and DAMNATION overwhelm him, scooping him up for a triple-team Tombstone gutbuster! Superkicks for Ruff, Endo up top...

DAMNATION win by pinfall with a shooting star press from Tetsuya Endo on Adrian Alanis.

This was a little slow early with I feel like one too many heat segments for a match that knew what it really wanted to do was wild stuff like Fox getting DVD’d into the top rope, but when it got intense, it got excellent and it didn’t let down much at all when it kicked into gear. And seriously, that DVD. I screamed. An actual scream. Out loud. I may have scared the cats.

Post-match, Fox gets on the mic and he’s a little hoarse so he’s gonna keep it short and sweet. He thanks everybody in WWN from the camera folks to the people watching the door, the live feed, all that, as well as the international talent. Most importantly he wants to take a second to talk about how special it is to do it in front of his WWA4 family and his wife, so from the bottom of his heart, he wants to thank each and every one of us.

Overall

The sheer quantity of international guests made for a slightly weird viewing experience that didn’t quite have the weight or gravity that Mercury Rising normally has-- it felt a bit like a side-story that isn’t strictly speaking canon in a lot of ways, but it was a fun, fun time. Top matches for me are the scramble, AK/Yamashita, and Higuchi/Drake, but aside from the intergender tag nothing fell flat here for me.

Storyline-wise, the whole Darby thing ultimately amounting to nothing is a huge bummer, but in the end giving Henry the big win and passing the baton to Briggs is probably the best salvage we can hope for, given the circumstances. Plus we have some exciting fresh faces in newly contracted Anthony Greene and as stated earlier, I really hope this isn’t the end of Shotzi Blackheart’s quest for equality.

Check the VOD out on WWNLive, folks, whether as an individual purchase or at no additional cost as part of your Club WWN subscription.