Central Florida may be
NXT country, but it is hardly the only game in town. There are a handful of
independent options here in the I-4 Corridor, and one of the newest is Pro
Wrestling 2.0, which we finally decided to check out Tuesday night. Pro
Wrestling 2.0 is a professional wrestling training center/organization headed
up by Alex “The Pug” Pourteau based out of a half empty strip mall in the
Winter Park area. However, don’t let the modest building or the small shows
fool you… several familiar indie names have graced the 2.0 ring, like its
champions, Sami Callihan and Su Yung! Tuesday evening’s “Seasons Beatings 2016”
would be no different.
Martin Stone & Snoop Strikes vs Jason Cade & Aaron Epic
The evening began with tag team
action as Aaron Epic and Jason Cade took on the team of Martin Stone and Snoop
Strikes. This was a great way to open the show in the way that it was a nice
blend of comedy and action, from a “rolling” Stone paying tribute to Johnny
Saint to the tope con hilo from Strikes to the outside. Cade (who I knew
primarily from his impressive high-flying Evolve performances) was great
bantering with the crowd, but perhaps his finest moment was exclaiming “All
Hail!” before dropping Snoop with a pedigree. Speaking of Snoop Strikes, I had never
heard of the guy before tonight, but I was impressed as he matched the flippy
Cade move for move. Be on the lookout for Snoop. NXT fans probably know Martin
Stone for his brief run as Danny Burch or his recurring role as enhancement
talent, but here he shines as star of the match. The hard-hitting Stone won the
contest for his team with a rope hung DDT on Cade for the win.
Lucha Cruz vs Josh Woods
This was originally
supposed to be a tag match, but Woods partner Seth Petruzelli was unable to
make it so it became a handicap match with Woods facing Cruz and…. a wrestling
dummy, that mostly just sat there. This match started with Woods out-grappling
Cruz. Eventually though, Cruz would turn things around and even perform some
“double team” maneuvers with his partner.
This short, sweet
exhibition match really seemed designed to get former NXT wrestler Josh Woods
over. The match ended by submission when Woods tapped out Cruz with a knee-bar
submission.
Pro Wrestling 2.0 Women’s Championship Match
Su Yung vs Santana Garrett
Up next are two of the
most decorated women in the Indie scene, as champion Su Yung defends her gold
against Santana. Su Yung came out complete with a black Santa hat and a bag of
Christmas presents, however, every item she pulled out of the bag just happened
to be a different championship belt that belonged to her. Santana eventually
has enough and a brawl begins, goes to the outside for a long while before
making its way back into the ring. Su eventually took control and punished
Garrett with submission after submission. They would soon end up exhausted on
their knees exchanging fist after fist. A referee distraction allowed Su to
strike Santana with a title belt, but miraculously a babyface Garrett kicked
out. A superkick and a moonsault later Santana Garrett would pin Su Yung to
become the new Pro Wrestling 2.0 champion! This was a fun match, Su Yung is as
good as it gets!
Pro Wrestling 2.0 World Championship Match
Sami Callihan vs Shane Strickland
Before the champ Sami
Callihan could even make it to the ring, Stickland aka Killshot attacked. What
ensued was a brawl all over the building, and into the crowd before eventually
making it back into the ring. Callihan is an intense hard-hitting wrestler, and
it’s a style that has been sorely missed at NXT house shows since he has been
gone. Shane Strickland gave it back just as good though in what was easily
match of the night. At one point Sami sent a message loud and clear as he
exclaimed “WWE!” before dropping Stickland with HHH’s pedigree. In the final
seconds of the match Strickland locked in a kneebar that had Callihan tapping a
split second after the bell rang for a time limit draw. Still your champion,
Sami Callihan extended a handshake and a hug to Strickland. Afterwards
Strickland superkicked Calliahn and made off with the title belt.
Darby Allin & Rachael Ellering vs Tessa Blanchard & Joey Ryan
The action continues
with intergender action with the team of Joey Ryan and Tessa Blanchard taking
on Darby Allin and Rachael Ellering. Out first was Tessa with Joey Ryan on her
back. The pair made it to the ring and Ryan explains that they were originally
supposed to wrestle each other, but refused, as they are best friends. He tells
us that they hang out everywhere together from the USA to Japan, and that Tessa
even shaves his back for him. Their challengers are out next, Rachel Ellering
and the explosive Darby Allin. Before the match can begin, Joey Ryan asks if
anyone in the crowd wants his lollipop, which a young fan accepted. Then it’s
time for the baby oil, Tessa graciously offers to oil up Ryan’s back… that’s
friendship. Once the action starts, it is fast paced, back and forth action.
Joey Ryan performed the dreaded “boobplex” on Ellering, and yes, Darby touched “it”.
Allin found himself unwittingly with his hand on Joey Ryan’s legendary junk,
and they played it up with gusto, as Ryan flexed his member before eventually
flipping Allin completely over with it. Blanchard holds Ellering while Ryan
pulls a lollipop out of his trunks and runs over to shove it in her mouth.
Ellering ducks and Tessa takes the lollipop. Rachael takes advantage of the
distraction and takes Joey Ryan down with a cutter for the win. This was of
course, a goofy, but fun match. All comedy and sexual innuendo aside, the
talent in the ring for this match was impressive. Tessa Blanchard and Rachael
Ellering are both crazy talented for their age and are guaranteed to be major
players one day. Darby Allin, has already gained a lot of notoriety for some
truly crazy Evolve spots, and is one to watch, provided he doesn’t kill
himself.
After a short
intermission we are treated with three more matches with some of up and coming
local wrestlers, featuring several students from Team Vision Dojo and 3D
Academy.
That 70’s Tag Team & Trish Adora vs The Dudley Twins TNT &
Lacey Lane
I enjoyed this
intergender match, despite the fact that I was not familiar with anyone here,
other than the Dudley Twins who I knew on name alone. Everyone did well, I
thought, but Lacey Lane seemed to shine a little bit brighter to me and I’ll
be on the lookout for her again. The Dudleys made an homage to their famous
namesakes with their finisher, a Dudley Death Drop to Trish.
Robin Reid vs Brandi Lauren
This was a short, back
and forth match with Brandi playing heel to babyface Reid. In the end, Reid
defeated Brandi with a roll-up
Axx Clover & Raegan Fire vs CT Brown & Kaci Lennox
The show concluded with
one more intergender match with Rex Bacchus as special referee. This was
another fun one. Fans of big hoss wrestlers would probably enjoy Clover, who looks
like a lumberjack. At several times the young Raegan refused to tag in, leaving
Clover in a two on one situation most of the match. In the end, he was not able to overcome the
offense of CT Brown and Kaci Lennox.
Pro Wrestling 2.0 is a
great mix of up and coming wrestlers and established Indie stars, and I would
highly recommend checking them out if you are ever in the Orlando area. They
return early for a special show, Reloaded, on December 29th
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