Brent Delivine defeated Mark Wight
This match was relentless in its pace, at no point did either competitor give pause to the action of this match. From the beginning Delivine and Wight established a breakneck pace relishing in the energy in the atmosphere to deliver a truly wonderful match.
The striking exchange in the beginning of the match established that both of these men would take the fight to each other, Delivine the veteran that won’t quit and Wight the veteran that would use every trick in the book to gain an advantage. Delivine’s fierce striking and feverish pacing answered by the technical prowess of Wight. As Delivine would attempt to pick up the pace and increase in momentum, Wight would cut him off with a foot choke or a neckbreaker to keep Delivine down. However this did very little to affect the overall pace at which Delivine would respond with forcing Wight to adapt and match his pace with all the trickery and rule breaking bravado he could muster.
As the match continued Delivine would take control with multiple dragon suplexes, dropkicks, knees and any other potent strikes he would use to take the fight to his opponent. Wight yet would not quit answering Delivine’s dragon suplexes with his front suplexes and answering his energy with mind games. A striking exchange in the middle of the match would prove advantageous for Wight, managing to cut off his opponent’s momentum with a series of holds. Nonetheless Delivine would not quit and would fight with whatever breath he had left to escape Wight’s grip. Wight would continue to dominate this portion of the match, he would hit a devastating Diving DDT from the top rope for it to only get a two count. Wight would continue his offence with a double knee facebuster followed by another pinning attempt though this would mark a turning point for Delivine as he would begin to once again take the fight to Wight with a series of knees followed by two devastating lariats. Delivine running on pure adrenaline at would attempt a shining wizard only for Wight to block the attempt and retake control with a vicious lariat.
The closing sequences of this match can only be described as onslaught of offense by both men, neither one willing to give in but both understanding that the end was near. The working holds of Wight had no effect on Brent as he would continue to fight at one point delivering an impressive crossbody only to follow it with a lifted inverted DDT and following that with a Dragon Sleeper, throwing everything he could muster to keep Wight down. Wight would continue to fight, driving Delivine into the mat with a destructing Pedigree only for Delivine to keep coming back with a level of ferocity that no man should have after such a match, but as Delivine demonstrated before he is not your average competitor. After escaping a Fireman’s carry predicament by Wight, Delivine struck with a devastating bicycle knee and followed with a Final Shot.
The match was scored ***(¾) by the reviewers here at Today In CAW. It was a great opener to what turned out to be one of the best episodes of the year, both men deserve the utmost respect for their work and if this were on any other card this match could have easily earned the title of match of the night. Near the ending of the match it did feel quite false finish heavy seeing how they came in quick succession one after the other with minimal time in between drawing away from the suspense and drama however this did not detract too much from the overall match.
KIOSHIMA defeated Alex Stryder
This encounter began with Alex Stryder schooling Kioshima in the art of technical wrestling, locking in working holds and quickly escaping any of those Kio would attempt to sink in. He would continue by targeting the limbs of Kio, keenly that heavily taped injured shoulder. Kio would continue to attempt holds only for Stryder to quickly and easily escape them. Stryder the veteran not letting up on the younger Kio as he would to wrestle the confidence out of his young opponent. Stryder would continue to target the bandagged should with various holds and strikes, but Kio would escape a hammerlock with a stiff back elbow strike and from there would begin to lay into Stryder with his strikes, knees, and various kicks. Bending the rules wherever he could to gain an advantage, however Stryder using his veteran intellect would pick the precise moment to counter and capitalize. A striking exchange would work towards the advantage of Stryder as he took the young competitor down with a knee to the midsection. Stryder again change his strategy begin attacking the midsection with a flurry of vicious knees. The action would spill to the outside of the ring where Stryder would continue the vicious assault to his opponents midsection.
Stryder would implement a new locket any available point each more devastating than the other. However a simple and rare mistake would leave the opportunity open for Kio to take control with a devastating roundhouse kick. Kio would fall victim to his own overconfidence and as following a Diving Dropkick from the top rope instead of going for a pin or another maneuver he would take time to gloat with a cartwheel leaving the opportunity open for Stryder to attack with a dragon screw further displaying the dynamic of the overconfident rookie falling victim to the killer veteran. Although Kio seeming to learn and adapt from prior experience would escape a Sharpshooter attempt from Stryder and follow with a suplex and a sequence of hard hitting maneuvers only to receive a two count. Withal Kio seemed to be merely surviving the onslaught from Stryder as no matter what he did Stryder would respond with another hold or a harder strike.
The finishing moments of this match saw Kio seemingly toying with Stryder, taunting the veteran and displaying a distinct lack of respect for his opponent. Stryder would head to the top rope only for Kio to recover and deliver an enziguri, he catches him with a superplex and rolls into a falcon arrow for a two count. Stryder would try to fight back from one knee only for Kio to deliver a Yakuza kick dazing him. Kio would then force Stryder into the corner and deliver a White Sunset to pick up the victory.
This match received ***(½) from us here at TIC, it maintained the high bar that was set for the night by the opening match but there some noticeable mistakes and mistimed sequences. The match was still fantastic and told a great story but it suffers slightly due to having to follow that splendid opening match.
LeCavalier defeated JTD
Right away the match began with the questionable tactics of LeCavalier as he immediately went for an illegal choke to JTD in the corner. Following a pin attempt which LeCavalier broke up himself he would begin to show his dominance over JTD. With every piece of offense LeCavalier subjected his opponent he would follow a taunt or some form of mind game to get under the skin of JTD and further display his arrogance.
After a series of chops in the corner by LeCavalier, JTD would respond with multiple barrages of strikes. Unfazed by LeCavalier’s on unorthodox style JTD would continue to rely heavily on his striking prowess. JTD showing off native strong style in all of its glory with a bombardment of chops followed flurries of other strikes. However LeCavalier would show his veteran prowess by retaking control after an opening with a Float-Over DDT. Although it seems that by taunting LeCavalier gave JTD the time to recover and capitalize via a missed running knee. As the match continued JTD would retaliate to LeCavalier’s actions earlier in the match, responding to his corner choke with a theatrical corner stomp only to get a two count. Be that as it may LeCavalier’s unorthodox style may have just been too much for JTD’s technical abilities as he reversed and STF hold into a backstabber and transitioned into a crossface, but the young JTD manage to roll and contort into a pinning predicament almost scoring a three count. After a burst of strikes by JTD he would send LeCavalier out of the ring and attempt a suicide dive which LeCavalier would block with a high elbow.
The finishing sequence of this match saw JTD reverse a top rope back suplex attempt into a crossbody only to call LeCavalier to his feet for an exploded suplex. This forced LeCavalier to retreat into the corner and as JTD would attempt a running high knee LeCavalier would cheaply push the referee in the way meaning that JTD would inadvertently hit the referee. He followed this with a low blow and a dirty pin using the ropes for leverage to win the match.
The reviewer’s here at TIC gave this match ***(½), as in terms of in ring action it was probably the least intense of all five matches on this episode however the character work by both men in the match made up for it. LeCavalier’s more unorthodox style meshed great with JTD‘s native strong style and thus produced an enjoyable match however the finish was disappointing.
Joey Legend defeated Joshua Phoenix
This match was a story driven master class punctuated by superb wrestling. From the beginning it was made very clear that this match and both of the men within were operating on a completely different level. This match almost immediately spilt to the out to the outside when Phoenix hit an arabian press on Legend only for Phoenix to throw Legend back into the ring. Phoenix would attempt a diving crossbody only to be caught by Legend into an Oklahoma Backbreaker only to get a two count. Legend would take the action back to the outside and brutalize Phoenix on the outside, throwing him into ringpost, onto the concrete floor, and slamming him slamming into the barricade. Phoenix nevertheless refused to give up and responded to this assault with a salvo of strikes but Legend would simply shake them off and once again throw Phoenix into the barricade. After throwing Phoenix back into Legend would begin searching under the ring for a chair but right before he could re-enter the ring Phoenix came flying to the outside with a dropkick through the ropes. Phoenix would attempt another high risk diving maneuver only to be stopped with a uppercut by Legend. Legend would proceed to obliterate Phoenix with a string of chair shots.
As the match continued Phoenix would introduce a table which would end being used against him as Legend would wrestle it away from him and viciously ram him with it. After setting up the table in the corner Legend would seemingly attempt to powerbomb Phoenix through it only for Phoenix to punch his way out if it. Legend however was relentless and with a kick to the midsection followed by a Irish-whip rebound powerbomb he would continue his dominance. Legend would place Phoenix on the table in the corner and attempt his patented spear only for Phoenix to reverse into a belly to belly and would come very close to a three count.
After exiting the ring to retrieve a kendo stick Phoenix would bloody Legend and return the favor for the steel chair attack earlier in the match. Phoenix would follow that up by choking Legend in the corner with the kendo stick and continuing the kendo stick onslaught to the back and midsection. There was a beautiful moment where both men removed their wrist tape and began to have a bare knuckle showdown, a moment of character work and story progression that anyone in wrestling would be hard pressed to replicate. The striking exchange then meant so much more due to the set up that went into it, a pure minute of storytelling gold. The finish of this match was just beautiful as Legend hit multiple spears to gain the pin on Phoenix, after the second one lifting him to his feet for another showing that he was out for more than victory he wanted to hurt Phoenix.
This match earned ***** from the reviews here at TIC, it was a masterclass of storytelling to further a blood feud between these two utter rivals. The character work in this match was unlike anything else on the card and anything else in CAW today. All the camera cut were clean and all the edits were seamless, it was a perfect match and a prominent contender for match of the year. Wrestling is a medium that is best used when telling a story in the ring and more important than the fantastic in-ring action in this match was the fascinating story these two men told.
Connor Battles defeated Christian Ballard to win the Freedom Pro World Championship
Immediately the tone for the match was when Ballard followed a running bicycle knee with a suicide dive. His need to beat battles even if it mean destroying himself was a constant purveyor in this match and was translated through action. Both played their roles outstandingly as Battles himself would use any dirty trick in his book to undermine Ballard. This match was aided by their storied past as throughout this match they used their knowledge of one another to gain various advantages which further played into the story of the match itself. The match would spill to the outside at multiple points as both men would try to batter the ever living life, battles using his dirty tactics and Ballard risking life and limb to inflict damage.
Ballard began to throw any and all offense at Battles and about half way through he would hit a devastating knee only to follow it up with a diving headbutt. Battles does deserve respect for his resilience and his refusal to give up, he would not let himself lose to his former friend. As Ballard would escape the death march Battles in a fit of rage and pure disbelief would unnecessarily attack the referee. Saul would come to the ring with the intention of restoring order to this match that was quickly falling apart, unannounced and unscheduled he would interfere to stop Battles from any further injustice. However this would have an inadvertent consequence as when Saul would attempt to get revenge for an attack from Battles he would end up kicking Ballard in the corner allowing Battles pick up the win and the championship.
This match was given ****(¼) by the reviewers here at TIC, the match was a story driven masterclass and the action was unrelenting. Both men used their past to guide their actions and it resulted in one of the best story driven matches of the year. It would have scored higher if not for the screw finish due to the run in by Saul, if it had ended cleanly it may have earned another quarter star.
Overall Episode Review:
This episode was presented absolutely beautifully, the video and audio quality was superb some of the best all year, all the sound and crowd effects that were edited in were synced and precise, the graphics and logo design was second to none, truly a testament to the talent of all those involved in the episode. Not to mention the great commentary and absolutely astounding ring announcer with the pipes of steel. of All the matches were good to great, all the performers stepped up to the occasion and delivered with some of the best in ring action of the year. The episode’s only detachment was the lack of down time between matches not only to increase the realism as logically the wrestlers and crew would need time between matches to either clean up the ring or get backstage, it also would help the viewers to mentally differentiate between the atmosphere and feeling of each match as they all were different, for instance going from clash of styles between JTD and LeCavalier to the blood feud of Joey Legend and Joshua Phoenix an add to break the atmosphere would have been beneficial. However this did not by any means ruin the watching experience nor did grealy detract from the rating. The reviewer her at TIC rated the episode as a whole ****(½).
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