Brent Delivine Opening Promo
VALOR Wrestling Commissioner Brent Delivine opened the show by addressing VALOR’s muddied past, the events leading up to VALOR X, VALOR’s closure and its current Resurrection. The promo was very succinct as to not draw too much away from the wrestling on the show, it did its job of updating the fans on the current state of VALOR. The biggest take away from the promo is that VALOR Wrestling is back and ready to stake its claim as one of the best promotions in CAW wrestling.
Yukita Nori defeated Kio
The matched opened with a grappling sequence in which both men traded various wrestling holds attempting to gain an early advantage. Nori would attempt to continue his attack on the shoulder of Kio, only to be caught with a back elbow and a fireman’s carry take down. A fast-paced sequence of roll-ups preceded a brief display of Nori’s striking prowess before Kio would take advantage of his opponent's momentum dodging a corner Koronco buster then he would attempt a very unique looking maneuver only for Nori to flip out of it. Kio would not be outdone and would respond to Nori’s display of agility with his own driving his opponent to the ground with a hurricanrana for a two count. Kio, not one to let up on his opponents would press his advantage with a shotgun dropkick followed by an arm wrench heel and completing the trifecta of kicks with a springboard dropkick. Kio would then attempt a dive to the outside which Nori would dodge and counter with an impressive corkscrew moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the outside.
Nori’s onslaught would only be halted when Kio would duck a running clothesline then proceed to hit a hurricanrana. A hard-hitting running knee strike while his opponent was caught in the rope and a springboard vaulting swanton would only result in a two count for Kio. Displaying his frustration Kio would deliver a flurry of grounded punches and knees to a prone Nori. As the match continued we would see Kio deliver two vicious powerbombs one into the corner turnbuckle and the other a spinning sit-out powerbomb but that only managed to get a two count.
The finishing sequence of this match saw Kio hit a superkick turning Nori around and getting him in Electric Chair position for his finisher only for Nori to reverse it into an inverted Frankensteiner. Nori would then waste no time at all before hitting his lifting inverted DDT to a seated Kio for the win.
We here at TIC rated this match ***½, it was fast-paced enjoyable cruiserweight action through and through. Both men pulled out very unique moves and sequences, particularly Nori with his Corkscrew moonsault to the outside. The edits were all done well and none were egregious mistakes that took away from the action. However this match did have points of inaction that broke the flow of the match, nonetheless, this bout was a showcase of two of the best cruiserweights on the roster and effectively reintroduced the VALOR cruiserweight division.
Cruiserweight Champion Arik’s Promo
Arik announces Ignite 2 as well as the cruiserweight tournament to determine the number 1 contender for his championship. The promo was again another effective reintroduction of talent to the VALOR audience and the announcement of Ignite 2 and the tournament has everyone here at TIC excited for future content from VALOR. The promo was good and didn’t drag on longer than it needed to, not much else for us to say other than we’re glad to see Arik again in VALOR.
The Radical defeated OTP
The match would begin with a taunting exchange by both men each displaying their arrogance. OTP would come out the better of this exchange as while Radical went for another taunt in the corner OTP stalked and capitalized with series of attacks in the corner. The first few minutes of the match seemed very mundane and average especially considering what both of these men are capable of however as it progressed it became very apparent that this math would be unlike any other on the card.
This match saw both men making uses of mind games to get under the skin of their opponent and force mistakes. It seemed however that OTP was much more willing to bend and manipulate the rules to achieve victory. He also was able to rely on his ability to outsmart radical at most points in the match while Radical seemed to be able to take advantage of OTP’s arrogance. Radical would have sequences of offense only for OTP to bend the rules somehow or simply outsmart him to regain an advantage. Despite his efforts OTP never manages to truly exercise his advantage as at every point through sheer resilience Radical would manage to fight back.
The match would then break down into pure chaos as the referee would be pushed into the path of a charging Radical allowing for OTP to exit the ring to get a winged helmet and sledgehammer. OTP would viciously attack Radical with the sledgehammer finishing up the attack with a spinebuster only to receive a two count. More shenanigans would ensue eventually resulting in Radical rolling outside the ring and getting a pair of hulk gloves from under the ring. There would then be a flurry of punches by Radical with the gloves and a further exchange of moves ending with the finish of Radical hitting the superman punch or as the commentator called it the “super hulk punch” to win the match.
We here at TIC were very conflicted as to what to rate this match and it eventually came down to us determining what effect this match had on the overall show. The final rating given to this match was ***, we loved the story of OTP outsmarting Radical only to fall, the victim of his own trickery, as it would almost always backfire. The issues came with more comical nature of the latter half of the match as it seemed to undercut the story they had previously established and while it was entertaining and creative it didn’t seem to blend too well with the rest of the card.
Tesla Vendetta defeats Amiya Everly
VALOR Women’s Champion Lacie Lacroix was meant to be in action against Amiya Everly, however, during her entrance she stopped to strip for some reason which initially confused use her at TIC but we overlooked it as it somewhat fit her character. Then things began to get interesting when Tesla Vendetta made an unexpected entrance but we immediately regretted showing any interest in this segment as Vendetta hit Everly with the Barbie Breaker for the win to the bewilderment of everyone here at TIC. This segment seemed rushed and poorly planned, we think it would have been much more effective for Lacroix and Everly to have a full match then have Tesla come out and attack a victorious Lacroix in order to set up their feud. This would have reintroduced the women's division with a proper match and a subsequent build-up for a future feud.
This segment was rated a DUD by us here at TIC as it did nothing for anyone involved but allow them a chance to be seen on the show but they weren't doing anything of worth or merit.
VICE, Chris Andrews and Aaron Matthews Segment
The next segment saw VICE come down to the ring to finally make his VALOR debut after the closure of Proving Grounds. However, it was not meant to be as before he could even finish his entrance he was attacked by Chris Andrews. Andrews cut a promo about his mistreatment by the management of VALOR before having security attempt to remove him from the ring only for him to quite easily overcome them. As Andrews was gloating his victory over the commissioner and his lackluster security he was ambushed by a returning Aaron Matthews.
Ozkar Van Brett Promo
Van Brett delivered a spine-chilling promo backstage revisiting the events of Ignite and his match with Joshua Phoenix and laying out his intentions for VALOR. The promo did seem a bit forgettable in the grand scheme of the show nonetheless it was well delivered and its content perfectly matches the character of Van Brett.
Ricardo Makaveli defeated JP Masters
The match began with Masters displaying his skill and power advantage over Makaveli, while Makaveli himself used his agility and speed to undermine Master’s offense. Masters would quickly retake control and pummel Makaveli, which was a recurring theme throughout the match. Masters would use his physical and technical advantages while Makaveli would weasel his way into short sequences of offense. The action spilled to the outside and Master would continue to brutalize his opponent eventually tossing him back into the ring and applying a sleeper hold. Makaveli would escape but before he could get any meaningful offense in Masters would trap him in another sleeper hold this time with a body lock. As the match, Makaveli would begin to string together more and more offense only to be stopped every time by Masters.
The finishing moments of the match would see Masters avoid the frog splash and follow up with a running enziguri but Makaveli would kick out. At this point, Masters was ready to end the match and following a spinning heel kick he would attempt a tiger bomb which surprisingly Makaveli would reverse with a rollup to pull off a major upset win.
This match was rated ***(¼) by us here at TIC, it told a good story, the action was good but a little bit one sided but it was understandable considering who was involved. The roll-up win at the end was surprising and a bit random considering that a win for Master would have gone very far in solidifying him on the roster and Makaveli is the type of guy that can very easily bounce back from a loss.
Robin Storm’s Deep South Championship Vacation
Commissioner Brent Delivine made the tough decision to strip his friend Robin Storm of the Deep South Championship. The two would become trapped in a tense stare before Robin Storm attacked Delivine stating that the south needed a hero and he would be that hero, ignoring his contractual disputes aside he would refuse to give up the championship and proclaim that the south needed him.
Maxwell Verdi defeated Bryan Amir to retain the VALOR World Heavyweight Championship
At the start of match there was a lot of standing around and posturing by both men but the they would enter into a lock up. Verdi would send Amir off the ropes but Amir stopped himself as both men began to circle the ring and posture. Form that point on the action would pick up to a pace more fitting of match between these men, as Verdi would desperately try to hold on to his title while Amir would at every conceivable would try to wrestle it away from him. Max realizing very quickly that he won’t be able to wrestle with Amir would begin to rely on his superior striking ability. The match would continue with both men exchanging some very hard hitting maneuvers pulling everything out of their arsenals to win the coveted championship.
The action spilled to the outside after Verdi delivered a vicious punt sending Amir rolling to the outside. Amir an ever resilient warrior would reverse a running kick from Max on the outside delivering a kick to the midsection of his own as well as fisherman’s suplex on the thinly matted floor taking himself out in the process. Taking the action back into the ring Amir would hit a diving DDT from the top rope that would only manage to get a two count from the champion.
As the match went Amir would go for the suplex neckbreaker which Verdi would attempt to reverse into a gourdbuster which Amir would then reverse into the neckbreaker. Amir would attempt to pick up some more momentum only for Verdi to once again cut him off with a big boot to Amir who was now prone on the top rope. Wasting no time at all Verdi would hit a devastating superplex gourdbuster GTS combination which on sheer instinct Amir would kick out of. With his frustration bubbling over Verdi would attack the referee and the two other officials that would return to bring back some semblance of order to this match that has devolved into chaos. Verdi would introduce steel stairs into the ring and would attempt a pedigree which Amri would reverse and respond with an Amiricale which Verdi would reverse into a fireman's carry knee.
The finish of this match would see Verdi deliver a poke to the eye followed by a low blow to Amir. He would place the steel stairs into position for a death valley driver onto the stairs, then lowering both his knee pads for a butterfly double knee driver for the win.
This match was rated ****(¼) by us here at TIC, it was an action packed and story driven masterpiece. Both men over delivered, all the camera angles and edits were done cleanly and at no point did they interrupt or halt the flow of the match. The story that was told was simple yet effective and props again go to both men for providing us with almost 20 minutes of just stellar wrestling.
Overall Show Rating:
The show was very well produced and all the graphics were done superbly so our props go out to the creators who clearly put a lot of time and effort into the show. The placement of all the match and segments on the card made sense and was aided even more by a stellar main event however there were a lot of promos some of which came one after the other and although none of them were bad it was a bit much having these consecutive promos. Outside of that and a few questionable booking decisions, namely the booking of the Women’s Championship, the show was an enjoyable hour and thirty minutes of content which did its job of reintroducing VALOR as one the most prominent promotions in CAW Wrestling today.
Final Show Rating: ****
Written By: Ashley Golden w/ contributions from Philip Nelson and Bryan Mathews
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