Last Saturday, we piled into the Wrestlefudge Truckster and headed to Bethany, Connecticut, for our very first live Connecticut Wrestling Entertainment event. We discovered CTWE through the online schedule of W'fudge Favorite™, Bobby Ocean. After a quick google search we were immediately impressed by not only the production values of their YouTube content but certainly the talent level of the promotion itself. It was a fun, fairly simple trip there and back and was absolutely worth it.
Worth it for the cupcakes alone.
But I'll get to that later. Let's talk about the venue itself! It's located in a not-too-out-of-the-way spot and just up the road from a decent diner. Win, Looked to be a packed house of 250. There were only a small handful of empty seats. No more than 5, we're I to guess. But we didn't feel like we were on top of each other and it wasn't sweltering. To be truthful, my only gripe is the one bathroom. That's one toilet. In the building. For everyone.
Let's just say I spent MOST of intermission standing in a long, awkward line.
Other than that, we couldnt have had a better time. But don't take my word for it! Be sure to check out the Wrestlefudge BLOGCAST Episode 14 tomorrow afternoon! Will Cena will give his often-times ridiculous opinions!
Aaaaaanyway. On to the show!
Show opened with a stirring rendition of "America, the Beautiful" by Christine Occhino. After scraping Will's chin off the ground, Ring Announcer Extraordinaire ™, CC Lasalle, would introduce CTWE Owner, Joey Bricco. He quickly announced that ROH stars RHETT TITUS and GRIZZLY REDWOOD would appear at their June 9th event and that the main event of their August show would be JERRY LYNN versus BRIAN KENDRICK! Not bad at ALL! Joey thanked everyone for coming and directed our collective attention to the table set up in the ring, draped with a blanket.
Joey would then call out ALL of the reigning CTWE title holders; AJ Cruise and his Shooting Star strap, Ant Battle and Nocturne with their tag straps, and finally Frankie Arion with the CTWE Championship. The babyfaces weren't sure what they were out there for, but I saw where this was going. Joey put over the importance of Bricco-Mania, thanked the fans AND the champions for helping to make the company what it has become and for being a part of taking them even further, etc... Then he yanked back the tarp... The big reveal.
After a nice early crowd pop, Joey announced that Ant Battle and Nocturne would defend their tag belts right now! This forced the other babyfaces to head backstage and allowed the challengers for the tag straps, "Royalty" William King and Zachary Pierre Beaulieu, to run in through the crowd and jump the champs. They IMMEDIATELY targeted the broken thumb and be-casted arm of Ant Battle with a steel chair -- and let me say, this was a brilliant start to the show, because the crowd was not.
Having broken his thumb just 7 days prior at Bricco-Mania Axxess at Manhattan College, I assumed that Ant wouldn't be a part of the title defense and this early assault ensured it. Joey Bricco got on the mic right away and said that Ant wouldn't be able to defend the belt... But that he had a replacement. Former CTWE Heavyweight Champion and northeast Indy standout, Dave Cole! The crowd popped hard at the announcement and we had our tag team title match!
I personally feel that this angle went down and progressed way too quick. Joey had his backup lined up WAY too easily. Might it have been more interesting to the crowd if, instead of going RIGHT to the Dave Cole reveal, maybe have the match up in the air? With the heels feeling like they had got over on the Champs... Then have Bricco call them out later in the show with the replacement.
I'm probably splitting hares and am over analyzing it because, let's be honest, the crowd ate it up and so did I.
This was a fun tag battle that delivered bell to bell. King was just fantastic on the ring apron, jawing with fans. Beaulieu was fun to watch as well, but this match was really built around Cole and NoC and some GREAT double team spot between the two. It's obvious why Dave Cole has the reputation he does. Noc would pick up the pin and he, Cole, and Ant Battle would chase off the heels for a fun celebration.
Again, a fun way to start the show off. Will and I gave Bethany and CTWE a taste of our chant-power early in the show by lighting the match on a SOLID "NOCTURNE" chant. There would be many more. Great match and great energy in the building to start off the show!
Next up was a "grudge match" between Ken Scampi and J Busta. Going into this show, I had heard of both guys, heard mixed reviews on both but had never actually seen either in action. Live or otherwise. I found this to be a solid, competitive bout that really showcased BOTH guys. The crowd was way behind J Busta from the go and I found myself cheering him on like he was a longtime favorite of mine by the end of the match.
Ken Scampi had an answer for nearly ALL of Busta's offense. Very back and forth, exciting match. Busta would get a two count off of a VERY nice Piledriver. He missed the twisting top rope leap pictured above and the match would end in an exciting exchange that saw Scampi earn the three count with a handful of Busta's tights in his hand. Good match!
Up next was a HUGE six man tag bout and it delivered on all fronts. Out first were the babyfaces: "The Shaft" Bobby Ocean (who, once more, rocked the Exclusive "Bobby O" Edition Wrestlefudge T-Shirt), The Mac, and "The Belieber" Mikey Chase. They would face "The Red Lion" Chris Battle, "The Upgrade" Alex Cypher, and Julian Starr. Will and I laid out a MONSTROUS "Bobby Ocean" chant before the bell that brought a smile to the mans face. That's about the time that Bobby decided to DIVE onto his three opponents from the top turnbuckle before the bell. It devolved into a brief brawl before the ref regained control and got all the men in the ring. There was a fun bit at the start with The Mac and his light-up sunglasses that had the crowd giggling and quickly that led to ANOTHER brawl at the bell. Hard hitting match where each guy got their moment to shine. Standing out is Alex Cyphers performance both in the ring and on the apron. Really great facial expressions and crowd interactions. Julian Starr really sold himself to me as a guy that controlled the ring in this contest. He and Cypher spent the middle of the bout dominating Chase who, despite how he sold himself on last weeks podcast, MORE than showed up to this match! Another guy that stood out to me as a fun performer is The Mac. To be real? It's really exciting for me, having discovered all of these great wrestlers. Which is why it's important, as a fan of indy wrestling to branch out when you can. Good stuff!
Mikey Chase would get the win for his team and a pinfall victory over Chris Battle. Is this the end of their beef? Mikey thought it would be last Friday. We will have to wait and see!
Next contest was announced as a four way. Lukas Sharp, the debuting Dalton Castle, and Stiff Biff Whitman came out and THEN the last entrant was announced: PINKIE SANCHEZ. Crowd came alive once more. This was high impact from the very, very start. Very stiff. Speaking of Stiff, Whitman had more welts on his body within the first two minutes of the match than I've ever seen. I *know* the purple hand print on his back will show up on their upcoming YouTube video release. Just painful. Dalton and Whitman had a nice double stalling duplex spot, just DRILLING Pinkie and Lukas with it. Sanchez, overall, played a craftier role, really stalking his prey and picking his shots. At one point, he missed a high moonsault attempt on Lukas Sharp. The interaction between Sharp and Sanchez stood out in this contest.
Lukas Sharp would nail a top rope frog splash on Whitman in mid-tantrum for the three count. Great stuff. The crowd saluted Pinkie Sanchez on his way out and CLEARLY would love to see him back again soon to the Bethany Town Hall.
Next out was "First Class" Vladimir Joseph. Joseph was scheduled to face former ECW star, Justin Credible. Problem is: PJ double booked himself and decided to make the trip to Philly to (allegedly) get all kinds of fucked up on all kinds of (alleged) drugs and screw over THAT promoter as well. Vlad didn't care. He knew that Bricco had a "plan b" and he wanted to just get it behind him, telling whoever it was to just come out and face him.
Out came Connecticut native and northeast wrestling star, Bull Dredd. I kinda knew the name, not the talent, and felt like Will and I were the only ones in the room who didn't know who he was. Obviously still getting accustomed to the lay of the land. He was WAY over with the Bethany crowd and Vlad did his best not to look concerned. This was the big man match you would expect, with the obligatory -- and entertaining -- ring side brawl. Both men put their power on display and put on an entertaining match. But in the end...
Joseph nailed a Vader Splash, pictured above, but Dredd kicked out. Dredd would eventually get frustrated and grab a chair outside the ring, which had the referee distracted long enough for Vlad to pull out what appeared to be brass knuckles, BLAST Dredd without the refs knowledge, and grab the pin AND win. Joseph high-tailed it out of the arena, leaving Dredd to get a decent round of applause for his efforts.
Intermission was up next. We sold a few wrestlefudge shirts at our merch table, ate an absolutely FANTASTIC cupcake and used the facilities. I didn't know they had a raffle until they did the drawing otherwise you *KNOW* I would both be ALL over that and would be victorious. You *KNOW* this. Also during intermission, I picked up a few audio bumpers by CTWE talent you can look forward to hearing on future podcasts! Including Taka Suzuki and Pinkie Sanchez. Great stuff. But, anyway...
The CTWE Shooting Star Championship would be on the line as we came out of intermission. Dan de Man would challenge champion AJ Cruise.
Vladimir Joseph would attempt to accompany Dan to the ring, but Referee Vinnie Lawrence wouldn't accept it, ejecting the big man much to the crowd delight. This was an EXTREMELY fast paced match that showcased Cruise's agility and resilience as well as de Man's ingenuity. I really can't sum up the efforts of these two in these few words. Cruise would kick out of TWO Shazam's before both men headed up top, de Man gained control up there, and landed a TOP ROPE Shazam!
Referee Vinnie Lawrence went down to count de Man's cover on Cruise... But something went wrong. He stopped for really no reason, perhaps expecting Cruise to kick out when he had no intention to ... Or couldn't. Will and I speculated at the time that perhaps Cruise has been hurt on the brutal landing and it certainly appeared that way. The ref would ask for the bell and award de Man the win and the Shooting Star Championship. Cruise had to be helped to the back and the referee looked like he wanted to crawl under the ring. Felt bad for the guy. Wondering how it will translate to video... Will they try to edit in post production? Is AJ alright? We shall see, eh?
The next match was another exciting four way match, this time featuring "The Cuban Crippler" Ricky Reyes, Bandido Jr., Jason Blade, and Brian Fury.
Every performer stood out and had a moment or three to shine during the match. As impressed as I was with everyone, I really enjoyed Jason Blade and Brian Fury. One of the stories of this match was Reyes and Fury almost working together to dominate their opponents. A lot of stiff kicks and power moves in this match. When Fury finally went after Reyes, Reyes bowed out. Blade unleashed a discus punch on Fury AND Reyes that took the crowds breath away. However, that wouldn't amount to much. Fury would get the win and a handful of Bandido Jr's tights for his trouble, literally STEALING the victory from his opponents. An overall explosive match that the crowd enjoyed, ourselves included.
The next contest pitted "The American Sasuke" Mikaze against Taka Suzuki. The crowd called it the match of the night. They might be right. A handful of other crazed fans (who left the building with freshly-purchased W'fudge shirts, I might add) started a great "DOUBLE DRAGON" chant that shook the building before the bell. When it rang it was all about some simple, solid chain wrestling, with each guy trying to gain the advantage. Nice double Hadouken spot led to Mikaze calling a brief truce in order to play rock/paper/scissors; loser eats a knife edged chop.
You read that right.
They traded wins (in between our "ROCK BEATS PAPER" chant, now available on Amazon Kindle!) and stiff, loud chops. Mikaze hit a nice somersault to the outside and, a bit later, Taka dove through the ropes, kind of got caught, and ate a kick to the mug. A lot of mug kicks in this match. So good. You'll want to look for this on YouTube when they release them all. So, so good.
A handful of REALLY dramatic false finishes whose details I'm unable to recall are ANOTHER reason to see out the video of this match when it hits the net.
The end would come when Taka would catch Mikaze in a submission hold, center of the ring, and Mikaze would submit. Crowd erupted. Such a great effort by both guys. Would love to see Suzuki in the CTWE Shooting Star title hunt, by the way!
Finally... It's Main Event time! Slyck Wagner Brown would be out first, escorted by former CTWE GM Jimmy Meaz. Wagner played to the crowd on the way to the ring, taunting them, and regretted it when he ate an AWESOME running dropkick from the CTWE Heavyweight Champion, Frankie Arion! Arion had charged in from the crowd and just LEVELLED Brown to a HUGE pop from the crowd. That early advantage didn't last, however. Brown would overpower Arion long enough to, still on the outside of the ring, powerbomb Arion -- the back of his head striking the ring apron VERY hard. Insane.
That photo doesn't do that powerbomb justice. With Arion down, a foul mouthed SWB stalked announcer CC Lasalle and grabbed the mic, running Frankie down, telling the crowd he was dead.
But Frankie rose. And Zombie Frankie wanted Slyck Wagner Brown's brains. And his heart. And his soul. Etc. Arion got in the ring and the match was on. I know the crowd called Mikaze/Taka the match of the night... But this match has to come close. Very stiff. Very brutal. Frankie had to overcome Slyck's size and did so dramatically and believably. The sheer power of SWB was really impressive, but Frankie's resilience was just as.
There was one moment, towards the end of the match, where it appeared SWB didn't kick out in time from a Frankie pin attempt. Otherwise an absolutely flawless match. The crowd was CRAZY into it. Our "SLYCK WAGNER BROWN STREAK" chant got Slyck shaking his head, grinning.
Frankie would kick out of several power moves but could NOT overcome the sit out dominator from Slyck Wagner Brown. And we had a new CTWE Heavyweight Champion.
Out came Joey Bricco, perhaps to argue about the missed pinfall on SWB (?), but he was lambasted by Jimmy Meaz and he and Slyck left the building to a rain of boos and catcalls. Let the record reflect that the Two Man Wrestlefudge Contingent was applauding the victory! Gotta love a hard fought title change!
Bricco would recover long enough to promise his good friend that he would get a No DQ rematch against SWB for the title on June 9th at Bethany Battle and the crowd filed out hopeful that justice would be served in June.
What a ride. One of the best indy wrestling shows I have ever seen live. Great atmosphere. A LOT for Will and I to discuss on the 3 hour drive home, and beyond!
Be sure to tune into tomorrows podcast for Will's take on the event, match by match, as well as out reveal of Match of the Night, Wrestler of the Night, Moment of the Night, and Flop of the Night!
Thanks to CTWE, their performers, their fans, and thanks for reading!
