Smash Wrestling: Super Showdown II
Toronto, Ontario, Canada 8/17/14
1.) Five-Way Match - Scotty O’Shea vs. Gregory Iron vs. Pepper Parks vs. John Greed vs. Alex Vega: ***1/4
Here we have an interesting mix of guys in this opening match. During the entrances, Alex Vega’s music plays, but he doesn’t come out. After everyone else makes their entrance, Kevin Steen’s music plays, but it’s Alex Vega, playing a dirty trick on their fans. This was a pretty solid opener. Things got out of control, as you would expect. All five guys got the chance to showcase themselves. In the end, O’Shea is able to score the pin on Vega for the victory.
After the match, Alex Vega yells at the fans for his loss. Some of the fans respond by standing up & literally turn their backs to him. Vega then goes after the commentary team. He shoves one of them, and destroying some stuff on their commentary table. He then gets into it with James Kee (who I believe is the owner/matchmaker of Smash Wrestling), slapping him in the face. In response, Kee takes Vega’s stuff and removes it from the building. After a minute or two, Kee comes back, and converses with the ring announcer. It is then announced makes it known that Alex Vega has been fired from Smash Wrestling!
2.) The Kimber Bombs (Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb) vs. LuFisto & Vanessa Kraven: ***
Here we have another women’s match on the road to CANUSA Classic. I know a lot about Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb, but this may be the first time I’ve actually seen them team together as The Kimber Bombs (in a two-on-two match). It was also nice to see LuFisto, who I’ve seen bits of, but I haven’t seen a lot of her (though I hear she’s really good). I thought this was a good women’s match. I really enjoy watching The Kimber Bombs as a tag team, while LuFisto & Kraven were solid in here as well. The Kimber Bombs were able to take advantage of a miscommunication between LuFisto & Kraven to pick up the win.
After the match, The Kimber Bombs attack LuFisto, until Kraven and the rest of Team Canada make the save. Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb then announce the rest of Team USA as Allysin Kay, Veda Scott, & Amazing Kong (who will be Team USA’s Captain).
3.) Johnny Gargano vs. Tyson Dux: ***3/4
There really isn’t much I can say about this match. The only thing of note was that these two have met in Smash Wrestling previously, and that Johnny Gargano won that encounter. Johnny Gargano is a great pro-wrestler. Tyson Dux is also a great pro-wrestler. So it is a surprised that they had a very good pro-wrestling match? Absolutely not! Sometimes it’s nice to just watch a match there no story or shenanigans. It’s just two guys going out there to have a very good match, and that’s exactly what this was. Lots of really good action from both guys. If there was one complaint I had with this match, it’s that the match seemed to end out of nowhere, as Dux reversed a cradle pin attempt from Johnny Gargano into a cradle pin of his own for the victory.
Afterwords, Dux & Gargano shake hands and hug. Gargano leaves as Dux celebrates his victory.
4.) Brent Banks vs. Rich Swann: ***3/4
So I guess Jay Lethal was originally supposed to be the opponent for Brent Banks, but Lethal had issues getting over the border, so he couldn’t make it. Lethal’s replacement was announced as Rich Swann, and the place went unglued!! They must really like Rich Swann, but honestly, who doesn’t? This was another really good match. Banks tried to slow the pace, but he couldn’t keep Swann down forever. Solid action from both guys in this match. Towards the end of the match, Banks goes to use a chair, but Scotty O’Shea comes out (he’s currently feuding with Banks), and takes the chair away from him! This distraction allows Swann to capitalize on the situation, and he picks up the win.
After the match, Swann tosses Banks out of the ring and celebrates his victory by dancing, like only Rich Swann can.
5.) Josh Alexander vs. Sebastian Suave: ***1/2
This is a long awaited grudge match between the original members of The Overdogs. This was a really heated match, as you would expect a match between two former partners to be. There were some pretty brutal moments throughout this one. They brawling both inside & outside the ring. At the same time, there was a referee bump, which led to a ton of interference from John Greed (who had been ejected from ringside earlier in the match), which kept this match from being as good as the two that preceded it. Despite having the odds firmly against him, Alexander was able to outlast Suave for the win.
Afterwords, Josh Alexander says it’s over, and shakes hands with both Sebastian Suave & John Greed, seemingly putting their differences aside, for now.
6.) The Super Smash Brothers vs. The Young Bucks: ****1/2
It’s been a long time since these two teams have faced off against each other. They of course had their series of matches in PWG in 2012, as well as a match in Evolve in 2013, but I believe that Evolve match was the last time these two teams wrestled each other. This was simply an incredible tag team match!! It’s amazing to think that The Young Bucks & The Super Smash Brothers can go so long without facing one another, and still produce amazing matches. Great action from both teams throughout this one. If you remember their PWG work, then you’ll definitely love this match. In the end, The Young Bucks would pick up the win in what was simply an awesome match.
After the match, The Young Bucks put over The Super Smash Brothers after the match as the best tag team in Canada. They say they’re good, but they’re not the best tag team in the world. They’re not The Young Bucks. They say that they’ll gladly have a rematch with The Super Smash Brothers, and issue an open challenge to any team in the locker room. They promise to return to Smash Wrestling. Then all four guys do the “too sweet” sign in the ring.
7.) Smash Wrestling Title - Matt Cross vs. Chris Hero: ****¼
Chris Hero won this title shot after defeating Josh Alexander in the Main Event of Smashapalooza. Much like a few months prior, Matt Cross had a special entrance, this time have a video mimicking The Undertaker, listing off the victims of Matt Cross’ undefeated streak. He comes in 21-0, but the video shows Chris Hero as the next victim. This was a great Main Event. Things started off slow, but things picked up over time, to the point where the second half of the match was great. It was also really interesting to see the size contrast between the two, and what kind of roll that would play. At one point, Cross hit his Shooting Star Press, but Hero kicked out!! I believe he was the first one to kick out of Cross’ Shooting Star Press in Smash Wrestling. They continued to fight, and eventually, Cross was able to hit a second Shooting Star Press for the victory, retaining the Smash Wrestling Title! The show closes with Cross celebrating in the ring.
Overall: 8.5/10
This was a great show from Smash Wrestling. There was a lot of really good wrestling throughout this card, as no match went under ***. Obviously, the two best matches on the show were The Young Bucks vs. The Super Smash Brothers & Matt Cross vs. Chris Hero for the Smash Wrestling Title. Both of those matches were fantastic, and are well worth checking out. You also had some really solid matches in the undercard in Dux vs. Gargano, Banks vs. Swann, Alexander vs. Suave, and others. We also saw some more build for the CANUSA Classic, as well as the advancement of Alex Vega’s storyline. Smash Wrestling continues to put out consistently good to great shows, and this show in particular was definitely great.
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