I’m going to be honest; I wasn’t feeling it when it came to doing a review of tonight’s IWRG Thursday Night Wrestling program. Call it me being in vacation mode for a longer than usual Labor Day weekend, call it just in general wrestling fatigue, call it me wanting to log in more hours on my Celtic FC file in EA Sports FC 26; whatever it was, I just didn’t think I had it in me to write tonight. And it was around that time, as I was watching clips from Sunday’s IWRG show at around the 2:30:00 mark that I saw Ovett Jr. get powerbombed from the ring and to the floor, by accident, only to get up seconds later and hit an awesome splash onto Super Boy Jr. through a ladder and a board wedged between the ring apron and the barricade. And it was then I knew that the saga must continue.
Last time, ON IWRG Z, Thursday night became a non-canon night, as LA Park, sons, and friends took over Arena Naucalpan for a joint show with Lucha Libre Boom, featuring plenty of good matches, and a run time that would make Bryan Alvarez weep. Things were back to normal just a few days later for the Sunday show, which saw the aforementioned match where Ovett Jr. nearly died for his sins, only to emerge from the ashes and help Big Mike defeat Lunatik Xtreme and Super Boy, setting up a challenge for a Lucha Extreme hair vs. hair tag match at the end of the month. Tonight, the build for that match continues, as Mike and Ovett team with Caballero de Plata to face Lunatik, Super Boy, and Cerebro Negro. Meanwhile, the rest of the show will see IWRG try to raise funds for injured luchador Spider Fly, with his MexaBoys stablemates Noisy Boy and Aguila Oriental and El Hijo del Alebrije to battle Puma de Oro and Revolution Crew’s Aguila Roja and Rey Halcon, while Hell Boy returns to main event alongside Hijo de Canis Lupis, Multifacetico Jr., and Rey Mitclan, in a clash against some Pigs (Four Different Ones). Who will prevail? Will Ovett take another accidentally dangerous bump? Will I choose to keep Oliver Burke as my striker in my Celtic FC file? Find out, TODAY!
Angelux, Lobo de Oro, and Mascara de Hierro defeated Kavuki, Maying Fly, and X-Devil after Hierro pinned X-Devil with a Sitout Powerbomb and Lobo de Oro pinned Kavuki with a Pop Up Cutter. This is now the third IWRG opener I’ve seen Kavuki (or Kabuki; the name changes show to show!) wrestle in, and much like the first time i saw him, I came away very impressed. And fortunately, he wasn’t hindered nearly as much by his teammates/opponents as he was in other matches he’s been involved in. This wasn’t a perfect match; the rudos at one point seemed to get completely lost in their beat down, and it wouldn’t be an IWRG opener if everyone didn’t look rough around the edges (including Maying Fly and X-Devil, the two luchadors pictured next to “rough around the edges” in the phrasing dictionary). But given the effort in these openers can sometimes remind you of a Gal Gadot acting performance, it was nice to see everyone working hard and trying stuff. And most of it worked, and several guys, including Angelux and the aforementioned Maying Fly and X-Devil, looked far better than usual. A good start to the show, and I think we can officially add Kavuki to the pile of guys like Dezzendiente and Gasparin Jr. who should be doing a lot more than they’re doing. We may have to do that with Lobo de Oro as well; he didn’t have as much to do, but the little he did showed he might have something. ***
Kali defeated Lady Cat and Sagittarius after pinning Lady Cat with a Gutbuster, or at least an attempt at a Gutbuster (it could’ve been better). This couldn’t have started off any weirder, as Quimera was not only advertised to team with Kali in this match, but IWRG sure seemed convinced she was there, playing her music not once, but twice. Did Quimera appear? No. I don’t know if this was a Spinal Tap/Chris Jericho in WCW situation where she got lost on the way to the ring, if she wasn’t there, or if she was and refused to come out, but either way I was left looking like Jon Moxley after he found out he was facing Will Ospreay at All Out for a good few minutes.
Shocked Mox is shocked!
Without Quimera here, this match was thankfully turned into a three way as opposed to a handicap match. Alas, it was also every standard three way match you’ve ever seen; lot of one on one spots with someone watching from the floor, a lot of pinfall breakups, and not a ton of dynamism (is that even a word?!). To their credit, all three tried, Sagittarius once showed a lot, and the action wasn’t bad. Sadly, it just wasn’t memorable, beyond Quimera not being there, and Kali getting the win (without pinning Sagittarius) to help continue the build to their eventual match…except for the small problem that Quimera actually beat Kali a few weeks ago to become #1 contender for Sagittarius’ title! Maybe IWRG is now pivoting back to that after whatever went on with Quimera tonight, or maybe IWRG was going to do Kali vs. Sagittarius anyway, but it doesn’t change the fact that this was all weird. At least the weirdness made this memorable though, because otherwise, this was every three way you’ve ever seen, and forgotten a day later. On the plus side, this was the rare time IWRG put together an all women’s match, so we can take stock in that while waiting for the next all women’s match five months from now. ** ½
Falcon Fire, Histeriosis, and Radioactive defeated Fauno, Principe Centauro, and Tirano after Histeriosis pinned Centauro with a Rope Walk Crucifix Driver. Radioactive and Tirano had been eliminated earlier after they pinned each other (a rare occurrence) and that was quickly followed by Centauro eliminating Falcon Fire with a Top Rope Splash while Histeriosis eliminated Fauno with a Rope Walk Top Rope Splash. This is not a finish stretch you see often in IWRG, and because of that it was as welcome as an ice cold Sunkist on a humid September afternoon. It didn’t hurt either that the rest of the match was also good. There were some lulls when the rudos were in control, but fortunately this was a match where the tecnicos controlled the action, and this match hummed when they did. Radioactive was just kind of there, but Falcon Fire was moving like Masato Yoshino and Callum Newman (and hitting some great dives while he was at it), and this was one of those nights where Histeriosis’ high risk, high reward act was hitting on all cylinders. Although perhaps he was stepping up because Sagittarius was watching him from the entrance way for a portion of the match, talking on the phone with a mystery caller while doing so. I had forgotten that Histeriosis had interfered with Sagittarius’ match with Rey Halcon (Histeriosis’ rival) a few weeks back, and that he had even been friendly towards her, something Sagittarius wasn’t really receptive to…or at least I didn’t think she was. I have no idea where this is going, but I am kind of hoping its a romance angle, partially because I’m not convinced IWRG can pull it off, and it’ll lead to something funnier than the “lovin’ you kept me alive!” scene from Pearl Harbor. We’ll see where it goes, but at least for tonight, Sagittarius watching the match was more intriguing than distracting, and everything else was quite good. *** ½
Caballero de Plata and Los Stippers Big (Big Mike & Ovett Jr.) defeated Cerebro Negro and Los Porros NG (Lunatik Xtreme & Super Boy) after Big Mike pinned Super Boy with a Top Rope Splash. This match served as confirmation that Ovett Jr. did survive that powerbomb to hell (as I’m calling it from this point forward), but may not have been healthy to wrestle, as he was immediately removed from the match after he was attacked from behind by Lunatik and Super Boy. Then there’s the fact that you could tell Ovett was selling the injury by the fact that he had more tape on his torso than Ron Reis did as THE YETAY! Fortunately, even injured, Ovett can still dance better than THE YETAY did.
Normally I’d say this match was, well, normal, but this Los Strippers vs. Porros feud is not only working, it’s really working. The fans have been into it, the fact that there’s likely a destination in a hair vs. hair match has only added to the excitement, and despite being a botch, the powerbomb Ovett took has only heightened things. As a result, people were really into this match, even though it wasn’t the most dynamic. We did get some good Caballero/Cerebro sequences, but the two were largely along for the ride, giving way to some weapon sequences, one great Brillo Dorada dive from Lunatik, and Big Mike having to fight from underneath. Oh, we also got Histeriosis running in at the end to…watch Big Mike pin Super Boy and then do a dance. Why? Why not I suppose. Not the most exciting (or sensical) of matches, but this storyline is working for the fans and myself, and it was enough to keep things interesting and good. Here’s hoping that hair match can deliver when the time comes. ***
This was the point in the show where IWRG brought out the man of the hour himself, Spider Fly! He had been seen briefly in the crowd earlier, but this time he came to the ring, cuting a promo thanking the fans for his support. This is where I wish I knew Spanish because then another guy came to the ring to say some things to Spider Fly, who then hugged him and the ring announcer; I assume this was them assuring he was going to be taken care while he recovers from his injury. Regardless, here’s hoping Spider can get back sooner than later. He’s among the better young luchadors out there on the indies, especially when he’s palling around with Noisy Boy, and if healthy he’d probably be on the same trajectory as his partner, who just wrestled Rey Fenix in AAA recently. Speaking of Noisy…
El Hijo del Alebrije and MexaBoys (Aguila Oriental & Noisy Boy defeated Principe Centauro and Revolution Crew (Aguila Roja & Rey Halcon) after Noisy Boy pinned Aguila Roja with a second rope Corkscrew Senton. Full credit to IWRG here, cause there was no other ending this match should’ve had other than Noisy Boy getting the win on the night IWRG’s raising money for his tag partner. Did it make this finish least shocking ending since Return of the Jedi ended with the Galactic Empire defeated and Luke Skywalker doing his best not to dance with the Ewoks? Yes, but that’s besides the point. Also, thank goodness Luke didn’t dance; he’s got no moves compared to his dad.
All kidding aside, I have to admit; this match left me a little cold. At times it was brilliant, at times it felt into the trap of a lot of IWRG main event trios matches in that there was a lot of meandering brawling, and at times I was questioning if El Hijo del Alebrije knew what he was doing. He’s like Histeriosis in that he can be very good, but when he’s off, he’s OFF, and unfortunately he was the latter tonight, nearly killing himself on an Asai Moonsault, looking rather sluggish, and even messing up a Monkey Flip Spot! He did get it right the next two times, but still; how do you screw that up? Everyone else was fine; Principe Centauro showed a lot working his second match of the night in place of Puma de Oro (although because of that Centauro was obviously pacing himself), the usual Aguila Roja/Aguila Oriental sequences crackled (and happened to infrequently for my liking), Rey Halcon did a hell of a job basing, and Noisy Boy was electric. There’s a reason he was a key part in the best lucha libre match of the year, perhaps the best IWRG match of the year, and is getting AAA bookings after all. And yet, I think he’d probably admit he wishes this match would’ve gone better, given the circumstances of the night. He still did fine, and the match overall was good. But it doesn’t change the fact that this should’ve been better. *** ½
Puerquiza Extrema (Pig Decapitador, Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, and Pig Pool) defeated Hell Boy and Revolution Crew (Hijo de Canis Lupus, Multifacetico Jr., and Rey Mictlan) after Pig Destroyer pinned Hell Boy and Multifacetico with a Top Rope Splash. Big night for the Top Rope Splash as a finisher. Let’s start with the good news; after being inactive for the last two months, Hell Boy was finally back. And that’s where the good news ends because he and Revolution Crew were stuck having to carry the Pigs. And unlike the all-time great Pink Floyd song that I’m sure they’re named after, these Pigs are no good. They are over, I’ll give them that, but if you’ve seen one of their matches then you’ve seen them all, this match was somehow a worse version of what we got from them a few weeks ago. The only difference is one of the Pigs wound up kissing a fan in the front row many times. If I had been involved in this, I probably would’ve gone full Kelly Clarkson and walked away, but to their credit, Hell Boy, Lupus, Multifacetico, and Mitclan gave it a go, and thus saved this match from being a complete embarrassment. Does that mean they were able to make this passable? To quote my mother when I asked her to get me WCW Mayhem for Christmas when I was 10, no. I mean, she did get it for me later, but that’s besides the point; the point is this match sucked, I’m happy Hell Boy is back, and he, and everyone non-Pig related in this match deserved better. And they won’t get it because the Pigs and Revolution Crew are feuding, will keep feuding, and oh god squish me. Just squish me now. * ½
Another IWRG Thursday Night Wrestling is in the books, and this show was pretty good until that slog (or I guess slop) of a main event. Even then though, this was a show that was in need of a great match to put it over the top, and sadly we never got anything other than pretty good. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll take pretty good, but I’ll also take great, and after getting a whole lot of great from AEW in this past week, and a really strong Los Strippers Big vs. Porros NG match on Sunday, I was hoping we’d maybe sneak something in here tonight, especially with the show being done for a good cause in helping Spider Fly’s recovery. I guess we did get a few great individual performances (Noisy Boy comes to mind), and I’m very invested in the Porros-Strippers feud. Still, we could’ve used a bit more oomph here. Hopefully we get it next week, and perhaps for that review I’ll have far less references to dancing. On the plus side, I did keep Oliver Burke as my striker for Celtic FC, and the dancing references allow me to close with an Alex Wright reference. TILL NEXT WEEK!
