The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Filthy Four Daily with myself and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including our usual weekly reviews of WWE SmackDown and New Japan Strong.
Then, it’s time for our Kane to the Hall of Fame song contest with the winner getting a special Kane face mask!
A fun show as always so check it out in beautiful HD at video.f4wonline.com. Click JOIN today!
The full card for this Friday’s New Japan Strong has been announced.
This week’s show is being billed as a Road to New Japan Cup USA event. The main event will have Brody King, Logan Riegel, and Sterling Riegel team up to take on Team Filthy, consisting of Tom Lawlor, Chris Dickinson, and JR Kratos. It was noted in NJPW’s preview of this week’s show that there may be a conflict of interest between Dickinson and Brody King, as the two appeared at the end of Friday’s Ring of Honor 19th anniversary event, seemingly forming a stable with themselves, Homicide and Tony Deppen.
Another match set for Friday is TJP and Alex Couglin vs. Misterioso and Jordan Clearwater. A third match, the opening bout, will have Rocky Romero face NJPW young lion Kevin Knight.
The NJPW Cup USA tournament will start on next week’s show. Opening round matches have Clark Connors facing Lio Rush, Brody King taking on Chris Dickinson, Ren Narita facing Tom Lawlor, and Hikuleo facing Fred Rosser.
Filthy Four Daily with “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and I is back with tons to talk about including Friday’s WWE SmackDown (which I really liked), New Japan Strong (which we both really liked) and some protein bars (only some of which Tom liked).
A fun show as always so check it out in beautiful HD at video.f4wonline.com!
Tonight’s episode started off with both Lio Rush and Rocky Romero’s pre-taped selfie promos hyping their main event later in the show. Their match was one of two New Japan Cup USA qualifying matches that aired tonight. The Cup will host eight entrants in total once all competitors are qualified. We’d know the first two participants of the tourney by the end of the show.
Karl Fredericks and Alex Coughlin defeated Clark Connors and Kevin Knight
The Young Lions were back in the ring with each other for the first time in months. Coughlin suffered a neck injury last year, so this was the first time we got to see him on the show this year. He recently appeared at both of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport events before making his return appearance on Strong this week.
Even before the bell sounded, all four were talking trash with each other, all audible, for the most part. Connors seems to have a uniquely dynamic chemistry with both Fredericks and Coughlin.
The first match kicked off with Coughlin and a more recent Young Lion, Kevin Knight, and the two looked sharp together from the beginning, cycling through holds and submission attempts without hesitating. Coughlin was keen on proving that his neck injury was healed, making it a point to use holds that put pressure on his own neck, ones that forced him to bridge.
No matter what, this always felt like a competitive contest. There was never a doubt in my mind that what I was watching was ‘sport’ and not something else. The way all four come across in the ring, their intensity plus the crazy athleticism among each of them is notable, and it made me pay closer attention.
I forgot how high Fredericks could jump. He showed off a high leapfrog while in the ring with Connors, and it’s always impressive because of how tall Fredericks is. There looked to be a bit of miscommunication between the two on a powerslam spot, but it didn’t ruin the momentum of the match, fortunately.
Knight took a beating from both Fredericks and Coughlin by the time this was half-way through. Knight would sometimes explode with a return attack, like once when he used a diving shoulder tackle to a seat Coughlin—something I’d never seen before—plus, later, he landed a dropkick where Knight had to be close to six-feet in the air Keep an eye on Knight this year, as he’s sure to blow up once NJPW gives him the nod.
Towards the end of the match, Coughlin used a double gutwrench suplex on both Connors and Knight. Eat your heart out, Daisuke Sekimoto. Knight later locked on a Boston Crab on Fredericks until he grabbed the ropes for the break. The finish saw Fredericks locking in a sleeperhold to put Knight down, then hoisted him up for Manifest Destiny, Frederick’s impaler DDT finisher, and picked up the win for him and Coughlin.
Afterwards, the two cut a good promo that featured a fired-up Coughlin, who expressed his desire to get back into the ring after being out of commission for more than half a year.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated The DKC to qualify for the New Japan USA Cup 2021
Filthy” Tom brought a long Indian club with him into the ring and swung it over his head a few times before the match. It’s the same piece of exercise equipment greats like Karl Gotch and the Iron Sheik used in their training,
One of the best things about this match was how it started: Instead of tying up, Lawlor kicked the DKC flush in the chest. I immediately thought to myself, “Why haven’t more wrestlers started their matches this way?”
Lawlor then boasted in the ring and asked for Kevin Kelly, who was on commentary. The momentary lapse allowed the DKC enough time to recover and get revenge on Lawlor for his “filthy” tactics. He landed a nice dropkick before the fight spilled out onto the floor.
Later, back in the ring, Lawlor took control on offense and it stayed that way for much of the match; the DKC would often try exploding back with bursts of offense, but the more experienced Lawlor was able to shut down anything DKC threw his way.
Lawlor spent time during the match working on the DKC’s arm. DKC answered back late with a Northern Lights suplex for two. DKC would continue to fight off submission attempts from Lawlor, and at points he’d come close to nearfalls via cradles or roll-up pins, but after Lawlor broke out the reverse bodyslam, the path to the finish was clear. He put the DKC down into a sitting position after locking him in a sleeper, then blasted him with a penalty kick for the win in a relatively short match, but a good one with a good story.
Lio Rush defeated Rocky Romero to qualify for the New Japan Cup USA 2021
Rush has had only a handful of matches with NJPW but already feels like a halfway seasoned regular of the show. His style really seems to suit the show so far.
The beginning of the match was similar to Rush’s match against El Phantasmo a few weeks back in that both matches started at a much slower pace than anticipated. The first five minutes of that match and tonight’s match with Rush and Romero were similarly paced, methodical and measured but with bursts of athleticism peppered throughout. Rush showed lots of flare and flash in his wrestling, but it never felt out of place or overdone.He and Romero complemented each other well tonight.
Romero looked to be in control of things. He targeted Rush’s arm throughout, tenderizing it with a hard dropkick from the second rope at one point, then later applying an arm lock on the same arm. Towards the end, when Romero went for his repeated forever clotheslines in the corner, Rush was able to withstand the blows, hop to the second rope and dive into Romero with a flying clothesline of his own. When Rush called for his finish, Romero was able to block it and turn Rush inside out with sliced bread for two. Romero cradled Rush for two, then Rush rolled back over, reversing the cradle and pinning Romero for three. Lio Rush wins and advances to the first round of the New Japan Cup USA 2021.
Final thoughts:
Everything on tonight’s show was great, but the first match had the most intensity and a lot of unanticipated excitement. I look forward to seeing more “Filthy” Tom in NJPW, too. Lio Rush seems like he’ll be appearing more for New Japan of America as well, as he too is slated for more appearances starting with the Cup shows.
Next week features Fred Rosser vs. JR Kratos in another New Japan Cup USA qualifying match.
The Big Takeaways:
Tom Lawlor hosted his very own Filthy Island-themed episode of Fusion featuring a simulcast from Hawaii and Chichen Itza, Mexico. Low Ki choked out King Mo in the main event before the Von Erichs drove in to even the odds on Team Filthy after the match.
Show Review:
Filmed in a less than spectacular outdoor setting in Hawaii, a Hawaiian shirt-wearing Lawlor and Dan Lambert (who both called the action ringside) welcomed us to the show flanked by the only sponsors they could get: Spam. The arena consisted of a ring with no ropes or apron, two couches for the three spectators, a few cameramen, a tent for the sound crew member playing the entrance music out of a boom box, and a gold colored grass netting curtain. A few trees were dotted around that provided some shade, also providing a spot for Zenshi later in the show.
Prizefight Challenge: Dominic Garrini defeated Mauna Loa (:39)
Loa was a so-called 14-time Polynesian Pacific champion, had face paint, a grass skirt and was much heavier than Garrini. Instead of cash, Garrini had cans of Spam in his swag bag. Loa knocked Garrini down straight away, but after collecting himself, Garrini took him down and choked him out.
— Los Parks hyped up their Tag Team title match against CONTRA Unit on March 3rd before LA Park then challenged Alex Hammerstone for his National Openweight title. Los Parks said they want to present all the MLW gold to the new owners of Promociones Dorado, whoever that may be.
Kevin Ku defeated Zenshi (4:59)
Another member of Team Filthy came out as Ku took on Zenshi who took everyone by surprise as he entered the action by jumping out of a nearby tree and hitting a flip senton onto Ku.
You might think a lack of ring ropes might hinder Zenshi’s offense but he was still able to balance on and off the ringpost, using his great core strength and balance to put Ku off. The referee had a nightmare 30 seconds as not only did his pants split, it sounded like he counted an incorrect three from a Zenshi small package and then missed Ku’s nonchalant pinfall attempt as he was arguing about the small package with Lawlor at ringside. Ku hit a German suplex followed by a snap dragon suplex for the win.
Mil Muertes defeated Savio Vega in an Aztec jungle fight
Last week, Vega rebuked Salina de la Renta and the new owners of Promociones Dorado’s Azteca Underground offer to buy IWA: Puerto Rico. In response, de la Renta booked Vega against her latest acquisition under her control in an Aztec Jungle fight.
This was the first of its kind and it was certainly different. The usual team of Rich Bocchini and JSL were back on commentary, calling the action via what sounded like a phone. The action was supposedly live from Chichen Itza, Mexico, and filmed in the dark with a single camera, similar to the Baklei Brawl two weeks ago. The action cut in and out as they walked and brawled around a grassy area. This started before the Rocky Romero match, but didn’t actually finish until before the main event with a CONTRA video featuring Josef Samael threatening Jordan Oliver also interrupting the action.
Muertes hit Vega with a crowbar to pick up the win. Afterwards, de la Renta told Muertes to “finish the job” as he began to dig a grave.
— Alicia Atout interviewed TJP about him snapping and attacking Bu Ku Dao a few weeks ago. TJP talked up his success everywhere he has been but that Dao was dragging him down. She questioned if he was a bully which didn’t sit well with him. Before long, the interview was over.
Rocky Romero defeated Gringo Loco (8:50)
This was a a nice surprise seeing Romero in his second outing of the MLW restart era. He didn’t seem too pleased about the setting, complaining to Lawlor that he was at the Tokyo Dome a few weeks ago “and now this?”
They started with chain wrestling, moving into lucha armdrags and rolls and then slowing it down with some strike exchanges and submissions. Romero fired up twice and got the three members of the crowd rocking before hitting a hurricanrana off the ring to the floor. Loco hit a running flip dive onto the ringside couch, knocking both the couch and Romero tumbling backward. Loco missed a backflip splash and Romero started working on the arm, picking up the win with a tornado DDT off the ring post.
— The Top 10 this week: Jordan Oliver at 10, Calvin Tankman at 9, Myron Reed at 8, Mil Muertes at 7, Richard Holliday at 6, Mads Krugger at 5, Low Ki at 4, Lio Rush at 3, Tom Lawlor at 2, and Alex Hammerstone at 1.
Low Ki defeated King Mo in a no holds barred fight to determine King of the Knockouts (1:34)
Ki waited almost a year to the day to get his revenge on Mo, Dan Lambert and all of Team Filthy. Their last match was February 1, 2020, when Lawlor knocked out Ki behind the official’s back so Lambert could throw in the towel, giving Mo the TKO win. During lockdown, Ki’s mental state was put into question with a series of bizarre vignettes seemingly hinting at brain injuries. Luckily, he seemed to have fully recovered in time for Filthy Island and his rematch against Mo.
Lawlor promised that the Von Erichs would not be there, but Ross and Marshall had vowed to help Low Ki in his lopsided fight. Earlier in the day, they live streamed while they drove to the location.
Mo worked on Ki’s knee, but Ki quickly got his on the shoulder-mounted chokehold he uses against his larger opponents, Mo fell to the ground and tapped out, giving Ki the quick victory. Lawlor and the rest of Team Filthy complained that he was reaching for the ropes.
Lawlor, Ku and Garrini jumped Ki after the match but out of nowhere, the Von Erichs invaded the arena by driving their 4×4 right down to ringside, jumping out and helping Ki even the odds. Lawlor was thrown into the windshield of the car as the Von Erichs and Low Ki stood tall in the ring as the Filthy Island edition of Fusion went off the air.
Next week:
MLW Underground (the retro series from nearly 18 years ago) returns for a week
In two weeks:
March 24:
MLW Never Say Never
Filthy Four Daily with “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and I returns with full reviews of SmackDown on Fox, New Japan Strong, both the WrestleMania Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan match and also the horrible WCW rematch, Sponsorship Snackdown and more.
A fun show as always so check it out in beautiful HD at video.f4wonline.com!
Filthy Four Daily with Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including our usual SmackDown report. And because there was no New Japan Strong, Tom and I review the first night of New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 15.
A packed show as always so check it out at video.f4wonline.com!~!
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor is the winner of the 2020 MLW Opera Cup.
In the main event of this week’s MLW Fusion, Lawlor defeated Low Ki in the Opera Cup finals. The match was 24 minutes long and Lawlor attacked Low Ki’s knee throughout. Low Ki hit a rolling kick to Lawlor in the corner at the finish, but Lawlor fell forward and pinned Low Ki to win the Opera Cup. Low Ki had hit a Ki Krusher prior to that, but they were too close to the ropes for Low Ki to get the pin.
To get to the finals, Lawlor defeated Rocky Romero in the first round of the Opera Cup tournament and ACH in the semifinals. Low Ki defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the first round and Richard Holliday in the semifinals.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. was the winner of last year’s Opera Cup tournament.
“Held annually for nearly 50 years at various turn-of-the-century opera house locations from New York City to Boston, the Professional Wrestling Opera House Cup was a grueling multi-day tournament,” MLW wrote about the Opera Cup. “The best of the day competed in the tournament and would often be an entree to more success, including the World Heavyweight Championship of the day. After a 71 year hiatus, the Opera Cup returned in 2019. Soon thereafter, the league confirmed the ‘classic’ would be an annual tournament hosted exclusively by MLW.”
The Big Takeaways:
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor booked his spot in the 2020 Opera Cup finals against Low Ki by defeating ACH in a great main event. National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger was made official for Kings of Colosseum while Jordan Oliver challenged Simon Gotch for the January special event.
Show Review:
In a nice comedy segment to open the show, Alex Hammerstone and Richard Holliday fought off some CONTRA Sentai Death Squad members in the parking lot, but Holliday was more aghast that Hammerstone exposed his obsession with Alicia Atout rather than the attempted ambush. He also stopped Hammerstone from throwing one of the members into his car because it was a rental.
Bu Ku Dao (w/ TJP) defeated LA Park Jr. (w/ LA Park and El Hijo de LA Park) (4:44)
This was a battle of MLW debutants as LA Park’s son took on Vietnam’s Dao. Park Jr. was junior in name only as he was every bit the height of his dad and not too far off his size too. He towered over Dao as he hit him low with a kick and flattened him with a dive as Dao was taking a much needed breather on the outside. The Parks also interfered behind the referee’s back at any opportunity.
Dao used the ring well and fought back after his early setback with a face-first slam coming out of a Bossman slam. The finish came when Park Jr. had Dao tied up in a guillotine, but Dao was able to fight out and lock in a small package to pick up the upset win.
— In a vignette, Injustice team member Jordan Oliver challenged Simon Gotch to a match at Kings of Colosseum. Oliver harkened back to Gotch taking out Kotto Brazil earlier in the year — an attack that caused Brazil to leave MLW. Interestingly, Brazil was mentioned twice and was seen on an old MLW.com article on this week’s Fusion. Could we see a return on the horizon?
Mads Krugger defeated Budd Heavy and Daniel Starling in a 2-on-1 handicap match (:58)
We were told Hammerstone was being restrained backstage by MLW officials so he could not come to ringside to exact revenge on Krugger in this short squash. After his reverse tree slam which squashed Starling on top of Heavy, the Sentai Death Squad put both fallen victims in body bags.
Once Krugger was backstage, he and Hammerstone finally got their hands on one another as the backstage area was described as chaos and the cameras had a hard time capturing all the commotion. Later in the night, Hammerstone’s scheduled appearance was pushed back to Kings of Colosseum instead where he will defend the National Openweight title against Krugger.
— The PWI Top 10 of MLW stars was as follows: 10. Mads Krugger, 9. Calvin Tankman, 8. Richard Holliday, 7. Laredo Kid, 6. ACH, 5. Myron Reed, 4. LA Park, 3. Tom Lawlor, 2. Low Ki, 1. Alex Hammerstone. Interestingly, Laredo Kid is 0-1 in this MLW relaunch but is ahead of Krugger, Tankman and Holliday who have all won matches in recent weeks. LA Park has yet to wrestle and is no. 4, Hammerstone has won one 20 second squash and is no. 1, so I guess pre-lockdown reputations and records still matter.
— Salina de la Renta continued her vignettes in the build-up to the debut of her latest acquisition: Mil Muertes. She was back amongst the Aztec ruins with a blood-soaked rag, dimmed lights, and a pentagram drawn in blood. She laughed as she told us that Muertes is coming.
2020 Opera Cup semifinal: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (w/ Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku) defeated ACH (12:29)
This was fantastic and hopefully a prelude to what should be an amazing final next week with Low Ki.
Lawlor had previously beat ACH in MLW and earlier said ACH didn’t have the brains to compete with him and would use his better speed to beat ACH. However, it was ACH who got the better of the two when the pace picked up by rocking Lawlor with a dropkick to the face.
Earlier in the night, ACH said he had improved since their last match in MLW and he certainly showed it. He bettered Lawlor on the ground, repeatedly using the side headlock in his favor, keeping Lawlor from making any real offense until the nine minute mark.
Lawlor tried to lock in a rear naked choke, but ACH dodged. However, he missed a double stomp and found himself locked in Lawlor’s grasp. They did the Bret Hart-Steve Austin Survivor Series ’96 finish, but Lawlor kicked out. ACH then reversed the choke into a victory roll for two.
The match went from zero to 100 almost instantly as ACH hit a barrage of quick strikes and floored Lawlor with a sit-out powerbomb. Lawlor got his knees up as ACH came off the top rope, rolling him up to pick up the pin, booking his place in the finals of the Opera Cup next week.
After the match in a backstage promo, Lawlor called himself “the king of the mat,” that his first round match “was a bit Rocky for my opponent,” that his win against ACH was “super” and that now he is going to go 3-0 and undefeated against Low Ki in MLW.
Next Week:
Alex Zayne and Adrian Quest defeated ACH and Blake Christian
Lots of innovative aerial action in this one. ACH and quest started first. ACH clearly had a distinct poise compared with the younger fellows, a real pro. He and Alex Zayne had a nice exchange midway through.
After five minutes or so of action, after Zayne had been in control for a few moments, ACH was able to enzuigiri himself out of Quests offense. He tagged out to Blake Christian, who was exceptional whenever he was in.
Late in the match, Zayne went for a pump handle, but Christian reversed the hold into a cradle for two. Zayne countered his counter with a cradle of his own and bam—Zayne nabbed the win for his team. Somewhat futile booking considering today’s news regarding Zayne, as he has reportedly signed with WWE. That’s wrestling, folks.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Fred Rosser via submission
Lawlor came out with JR Kraots and Rust Taylor, who we saw last week. These three together are called Team Filthy, according to the banner Kratos and Taylor held up before the match.
Lawlor threw his filthy ring towel at Rosser before the match started. Tom proceeded to strip down from his denim shorts to reveal another, skimpier pair of denim shorts. Who doesn’t love Filthy Tom?
Lawlor’s MMA-centric offense looked great here. It created this great and very clear contrast in their styles, Rosser showcased the classic North American “wrestler’s wrestler” style, contrasting with Lawlor, the gutsy martial arts technician.
Rosser suplexed Lawlor onto the apron midway through this. His offense looks good, but more safe compared with Lawlor’s style.
Filthy Tom spent the next part of the match working Rosser’s left arm and shoulder, slowing the pace. He punished Rosser with low kicks. Rosser toughed it out and cradled Lawlor for a surprise two count. Lawlor immediately slapped on an arm breaker before Rosser inched his way to the bottom rope for a break.
Lawlor looked to be in control of things until towards the end, when Rosser went for a fireman’s gutbuster. Lawlor was able to reverse it into a cloverhold, then into an STF before Rosser made it to the ropes for the break. Rosser later was able to pull off the gutbuster, but it wasn’t enough to put Lawlor away; Filthy Tom tapped Rosser with a-bow-and-arrow armlock/leglock.
The story here is that Rosser lost, but not by much, according to Kevin Kelly. Overall it was a good match with a nice finish that seems like it could lead to a rematch down the line.
Juice Robinson, Karl Fredericks & Brody King defeated Bullet Club (Jay White, Tonga Loa & Chase Owens)
Solid tag action here. White and Fredericks started things off. These two are going to have barn burners down the road.
These two didn’t have too much time in the ring together, but it felt like they’d been rivals for years. The towering Fredericks did a leapfrog and crossbody block early on, but with all the grace of a SANADA or a Ricky Steamboat. Very impressive.
Tonga Loa and Chase Owens started double-teaming Fredericks as the match continued. Brody King came in and cleaned house midway through and looked beastly. Lots of action throughout with the clash between White and Fredericks sticking out.
Towards the end, White spiked King with a snap DDT. He then rolled King to the floor and made sure Owens was able to take out Robinson in the ring. Robinson landed his Pulp Friction finish in the end, picking up the W for his team.
Tama Tonga defeated PJ Black
Well-paced main event match. Tonga was slow and cunning at the top of this, really dictating the pace, slowing it down from the get-go. After watching Tama Tonga for so long—I’m sure I’ll catch flack for this, but hear me out: Inside the ring, Tama Tonga is a lot like Keiji Muto. Sure, we initially associate Muto with moonsaults and handspring back elbows, but I am referring specifically to Tonga’s deliberate pacing, grinding his match to his flow, exploding in short bursts for stomps or an elbow drop. Tonga doesn’t really turn on the juice until it’s necessary, just as Muto often would like to do.
Black landed with plancha to the floor early on. He busted his nose open early on in this, so there would be moments in the match where production may have been forced to hold wide shots to avoid showing blood on screen. Black used a quebrada, caught Tonga, and turned it into a falling inverted DDT.
The last couple minutes of this were high-energy, with both Black and Tonga turning up the juice late in this, getting the win with the gun stun. We didn’t get a clear view of the finish, though, as the camera was stuck on the wide shot during the pin.
Nonetheless, good match. The stakes weren’t all that high, but by the end of the match it felt like it mattered. Tama Tonga needs a singles run soon.
Tonga told Black afterwards: “Yeah I see you … but do you see me? Do all of you see me now?”
Final thoughts:
Another good show from the NJPW Strong crew this week. Gradual storyline and character development throughout. Fred Rosser is finding a niche, I think. Tom Lawlor and the new Team Filthy with JR Kratos and Rust Taylor could be a great “outsider” element for the show going forward. And hopefully, there may be something in store for Tama Tonga down the road in terms of a singles run, which, again, I think he desperately needs, as I think he would kill it.
Image: MLW
Filthy Four Daily co-host, pro wrestler and MMA fighter “Filthy” Tom Lawlor has COVID-19.
Revealing the news in an optimistic tweet Saturday, Lawlor said that at some point over the last two weeks, he got the virus but is asymptomatic. He withdrew from a Friday indie booking against fellow UFC alum Stephan Bonnar, but pledged to return as soon as he can.
Lawlor was recently announced to be part of Major League Wrestling’s mid-November restart. The tapings were more than two weeks ago — before when Lawlor believes he contracted the virus. He is also a member of the Professional Fighters League roster, but the group has no events scheduled until April.
As the indies have picked back up, the 37-year-old Lawlor has been wrestling more frequently including on two New Japan Pro Wrestling Lion’s Break shows and in several matches as part of last month’s GCW Collective weekend.
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about in our look at Friday Night SmackDown and New Japan Strong on NJPWWorld.com!
Will this be the first week that Smackdown beats New Japan? Tune in for all the thrilling action! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including where Tom was last week, the SmackDown go-home show for Hell in a Cell, New Japan Strong’s great main event, and tons more.
Watch the show in full HD.
A fun show as always so check it out~!
The third edition of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport emanates lives from Indianapolis, IN, Sunday night with the debut of AEW World Champion Jon Moxley headlining the show.
Originally scheduled to face Barnett at Bloodsport in April, the ardent MMA fan will face Chris Dickinson instead. Dickinson headlined the second show in a losing effort to Barnett. Unless there is a surprise, the show’s namesake will not be in action.
In another featured match, former MLW Champion and MMA fighter “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will look to pick up his first Bloodsport win when he faces the debuting Homicide. Lawlor has lost to Davey Boy Smith Jr. and WALTER at previous shows.
Smith Jr. will also be in action and will look to go 3-0 when he faces The North’s Josh Alexander, making his Bloodsport debut.
The show will also feature regulars Simon Grimm vs. Matt Makowski, Calvin Tankman vs. Alexander James; Erik Hammer vs. Kal Jack, and a four woman tourney featuring Killer Kelly vs. Allysin Kay and Lindsay Snow vs. Leyla Hirsch.
Matches can only end in knockout or submission and are done in a ring with no ropes or turnbuckles.
The show begins at 8 PM Eastern.
**********
The show kicked off with the entire card being brought out one by one with Jon Moxley, clad in all black and wrestling shoes, and Homicide getting huge pops as you might expect. Barnett came out and did a quick speech before we got into the show.
For some reason, the ring announcer’s mic can only be heard through the camera mic which made it hard to hear what Barnett said. I’m not sure why indie shows can’t figure out how to patch that through.
Simon Grimm (1-2) def. Matt Makowski (2-1) by knockout
Grimm came into this looking for his first Bloodsport win (0-2) while Makowski was looking to go to 2-0 after knocking out Rory Gulak at the second event.
Overall, this was a very even match with both guys looking good. Makowski is a former MMA fighter while Grimm has been committed to this new style since he parted ways with WWE. It wasn’t much on flash but it did have substance.
This was a bit of a surprise ending as Grimm hit a half and half suplex that apparently briefly knocked out Makowski so the ref called it. Unfortunately, there was no replay.
Women’s Tourney Semifinals: Allysin Kay (2-0) def. Killer Kelly (0-1) by submission
Kay knocked out Nicole Savoy in her first Bloodsport appearance while this was Kelly’s first match. This is only the third women’s match in Bloodsport history.
These two had good intensity, especially Kelly who had an especially crazed look with her mouthpiece. Overall, this was a a really good match that went two minutes too long.
In one spot, Kelly snuck out the back door and had a rear naked choke on Kay that nearly saw hier submit, but Kay went straight back to try to escape and the two eventually wanted to go on the feet. They had plenty of striking exchanges throughout the match that also helped add to the intensity.
The end came when Kay essentially figure four’d Kelly’s head to get the submission, made even better by Kelly’s wide eyes as it was happening. Again, no replays which is disappointing.
I’m always curious what first time Bloodsport viewers think of this format since it’s so a change of pace.
Women’s Tourney Semifinals: Lindsay Snow (1-1) def. Leyla Hirsch (0-1) by submission
This marked Hirsch’s debut as she’s an amateur wrestler fro Russia who has really made a name for herself on the indies in the last year while Snow was looking for her first win after losing to Sumie Sakai in the first ever women’s Bloodsport match.
This one ended surprisingly quickly. While Hirsch held her own for a while, Snow’s size was too much for Hirsch, ensnaring her in a heel hook for the tap following a Karelin lift. I would have loved to see a few minutes from Kay/Kelly get added to this one. That means Snow vs. Kay is set for the finals.
Calvin Tankman (1-0) def. Alexander James (0-1) by knockout
This was the Bloodsport debut for both men and the story was that Tankman went into this with no relevant experience while the wXw veteran James went into this with an advantage.
The match was meh, but the fans were really into Tankman from the start, especially as he got back into the match after James grounded him for so long. The end came when the two got into a striking battle and Tankman hit a right hand that knocked James down followed by some ground and pound for the stoppage. Given the reaction here, I’m looking forward to seeing how Tankman, who signed with MLW during the pandemic, will progress over the next year.
Erik Hammer (2-0) def. “Grizzly” Kal Jak (0-1) by submission
Hammer is the top student of Barnett so the story was the pressure was on him to perform here even though he went into this 1-0 in his Bloodsport career. This was the debut for Jak, the former NXT talent known as Cal Bishop.
Hammer, who looked like a light heavyweight version of Ox Baxer with a shaved head and fu manchu, was fundamentally sound throughout the bout with Jak staying in the game with big suplexes. Hammer submitted Jak with a double wristlock to end a perfectly fine match.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor (1-2) def. Homicide (0-1) by submission
Like Tankman, Homicide came into this with no formal training while Lawlor has a podcast on this website and has teamed with Bryan Alvarez. He went into this looking for his first win after losses to WALTER and Davey Boy Smith.
These two were into it early, flipping each other off, spitting, and slapping each other. Lawlor was landing a slew of elbows standing which eventually knocked Homicide on his ass. He attempted to finish him off with a sliding dropkick, but Homicide grapped his leg and turned it into an STO in a cool spot.
Homicide made a good accounting for himself, mixing in his street fighting style in a way that made sense. One such moment was when Homicide started stomping flush on Lawlor’s head which was almost a stoppage. Lawlor got fired up and locked in a front choke that almost submitted him before he hit an exploder suplex.
Homicide went for the Cop Killer, but Lawlor escaped, working into a seated half crab for the submission to end a really, really fun match.
Lenny Leonard, flying solo on the announcing, is very good. This is a much better audio experience than the second show.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (3-0) def. Josh Alexander (0-1) by knockout
Alexander, the former Impact Tag Team Champion with Ethan Page, was making his Bloodsport debut against DBS who was looking to remain undefeated at Bloodsport.
Smith always looks physically in shape and that was certainly the case here. He got Alexander in trouble twice at the edge of the mat, once in an armbar that Alexander was able to escape and later in a sharpshooter that got broken up.
The end came when Smith landed two really hard looking forearms to Alexander’s jaw that dropped him, followed by a stiff kick to the gut and a Liger Bomb for the knockout in a very quick match. Smith was dominant and surprisingly so. This was basically a squash.
Women’s Tourney Finals: Lindsay Snow (2-1) def. Allysin Kay (2-1) by submission
Not only do both women have distinct looks, but they are very skilled with this form of wrestling which added to the quality. Most of this was spent on the mat with varying holds and very few strikes. Like a lot of the matches, the end came quickly as Snow got Kay in a heel hook for the quick tap, the tourney win, and Kay’s first Bloodsport loss. I could see them running this back at the next show as a Bloodsport rivalry of sorts. This was fine, but I would have liked to see it go a few more minutes with at least one good striking exchange.
Jon Moxley (1-0) def. Chris Dickinson (1-3) by submission
This was Moxley’s first Bloodsport appearance after he was supposed to fight Barnett at the canceled Bloodsport show in April. As expected, Moxley didn’t come out with the AEW belt and came out to Hole’s “Violet”. Dickinson went into this at 1-2 with losses to Dan Severn and Barnett and a win over “The Butcher” Andy Williams.
The announcer put over how Dickinson was supposed to have a ton of big matches in April but the pandemic ruined it. However, with a win here tonight over a champion in two of the biggest wrestling companies in the world, he could write his own ticket.
This was pretty competitive throughout. In one of the bigger spots of the night, Moxley pushed Dickinson into the ring post but since there were no ring ropes, he fell all the way to the floor, giving him a brief edge. Later, he did a sliding shoulderblock to knock Dickinson outside the rig once again.
I realized halfway through the match that Moxley is wrestling live in a few days on the Dynamite show, adding to the physical risk of taking this book so close to AEW’s anniversary show.
Dickinson regained control with a dragon screw legwhip and when after Moxley’s left leg with kicks and a deadlift German suplex. The two did a great exchanged of forearms strikes, chops and a Moxley headbutt, but Dickinson roared back with two belly to back suplexes and a high kick that looked to knock the champion out. Dickinson landed some ground and pound and went for an armbar, but Moxley fought out.
Moxley got a front facelock into a double arm suplex, transitioning from a rear naked choke into the bulldog choke for the submission to end a very good and entertaining match.
Afterward, Moxley did a promo that was hard to understand because of the aforementioned microphone issue. He put over Dickinson, the other talents in the back, indie wrestling, and the fans in attendance.
Final Thoughts:
This was a very well-paced and entertaining show at two hours and fifteen minutes, the best of the Bloodsport events I have seen. The Lawlor-Homicide match was my favorite, followed by Moxley-Dickinson. This style is hard to do a lot of matches with as there’s often not enough variance to make each match feel different. They largely succeeded tonight with a very good show.
A new match has been added to Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport event that takes place next month.
Homicide will take on Filthy Tom Lawlor. Barnett made the announcement on his Twitter account.
The card has been taking shape in recent days. AEW World champion Jon Moxley has been confirmed for the event, as he will take on Chris Dickinson. Moxley had previously been signed to face Josh Barnett twice, but was unable to both times, first due to MRSA in his elbow and second due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Matches announced for the show include Simon Grimm vs. Matt Makowski and Erik Hammer vs. Kal Jack. Other wrestlers slated to appear on the card include Josh Alexander, Calvin Tankman, Lindsay Snow, Killer Kelly, Alexander James, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Allysin Kay.
The event will take place on October 11 at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a part of GCW’s The Collective series of shows.
