2CW Wrestling resukts
August 4, 2012
Rome, N.Y. at Kennedy Arena
Report by Tyler Kennedy, PWTorch correspondent

Doors were scheduled to open at 5:30 p.m. and the show at 7:00, but doors were pushed back to 6:00. I think they opened around 6:15, which is pretty good for a 2CW show. Diamond Dallas Page was doing a meet and greet for ten dollars and had a huge line. They didn't start the show until the line was gone, which was about 7:30. It seemed that two-thirds of the crowd went for the meet and greet, so DDP had a pretty good pay day tonight.

There were seven rows of chairs around the ring. There were eight at the first show, and about twelve at the last. Second row seats were still available at the front door, which I usually don't see. They had bleacher seating alongside one side of the ring/rink, as opposed to two sides as they've done in the past. The building was very hot; it may have been as low as 85 degrees but plenty humid.

(1) The Killer Steves & Loca Vida (electric dream machine) beat Supercop Dick Justice & Pete D. Order & a guy whose initials are EMT. This was a pretty standard opening match with everyone hitting their basic spots without anyone getting too risky. Dick Justice is hilarious inside the ring, but he always wrestles a little soft, as in cautiously. Loca Vida always brings the energy and the Steves are solid. They hit a flurry of Tatanka chops that were pretty ridiculous/entertaining. Decent match, but the opener style wrestling coupled with the muggy arena made for a sluggish crowd, which kind of set the tone for the night. 8/10 on an opener scale.

(2) Isys Ephex beat Cheech. Cheech is really fantastic. His in-ring persona and personality are better than most of the guys on TV. Every one of his moves and mannerisms are deliberate and he's also a fantastic technical and pro wrestler. I've only ever seen him live in mid-card or opener type matches with about one-fourth comedy and three-fourths wrestling matches. I've seen him do a lot of risky stuff with Cloudy back in the day, and I would like to see him on the upper-card in some competitive singles matches, but he's such a good heel that he's good anywhere on the card. Isys was wearing his ridiculous hat - he's a 2CW fixture and he's constantly over, but I'm not sure that he's ever played the bad guy, which he would probably be good at it. This was a solid match with a lot of playing the crowd. Cheech tried to start a fight with several toddlers during his way to the ring. The crowd was heating up a little for this match and I believe both wrestlers traded suicide dives or topes to the floor. Isys defeated Cheech with a version of the vertebreaker - a sick spot that gave the match a nice exclamation point and ending, but a little risky for Match #2, though. 7/10 for what it was.

(3) Matt Milan & Bin Hamin beat Zachary Springate the Third in a two-on-one Street Fight. ZS3 is another 2CW staple, wearing his street clothes for a Street Fight that stayed in the ring mostly. Milan is a young guy trained by Brodie Lee, I understand. Then, there's Bin Hamin, who is terrible. Firstly, it's not the '70s anymore, so people are going to notice that he's just a white guy with a beard. Even his accent is terrible. I know the foreigner thing is a good way to get cheap heat, and it worked when he wrestled Hacksaw, but he's just terrible. But, I guess cheap heat is better than no heat. He's terrible in the ring and hardly did anything during this match, which was probably for the better. This was billed as a Street Fight, but it was a total letdown. That was a mistake. ZS3 laid out Milan with a few belt-assisted punches and they traded some hard-hitting moves. A half-dozen people in the crowd were very anti-Milan. Milan and Bin Hamin picked up the win after Hamin hit Springate from the outside with a flag. The crowd lost steam for this match, but it was still a solid performance by both guys, especially for Milan as a relative greenhorn. It couldn't have hurt adding a few weapon shorts or something, as there weren't any weapons on the show so it wouldn't have taken away from anything. 4/10 because it was billed as a Street Fight and didn't deliver.

There was no intermission and I think it was a good idea. There were nine matches and a long DDP segment, so a half-hour intermission would have drained the crowd further alongside the heat. The lobby was well air-conditioned and the food was good as always. The prices are decent, but the service is very slow, still the food gets a 10/10 as far as snackstands go.

(4) Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno & Player Dos) beat Punisher Van Slyke & Kevin Graham to retain the 2CW Tag Titles. Smash Brothers are great, and the unmasked Smash Brother sells hard and wrestles intensely. Graham and Van Slyke are pretty good as a tag team, if only for their differing styles. I was hoping to see the Smash Brothers against a different tag team, but Slyke and Graham kept pace with the Brothers. The match started with First Class beating on Player Uno for a good five minutes. They threw him around pretty good and he sold beautifully. The crowd was in to this match considering the heat and the fact that two-thirds of the audience was sitting behind ice rink glass. Player Dos got the hot tag and cleaned house. The Smash Bros. hit an awesome double team move, a top rope 450, and a running cannonball corner senton at the same time. I've never seen that one before and it was quite awesome. Next, Punisher hit Player Uno with a monster top-rope belly-to-belly release suplex, followed by a top-rope splash two-thirds across the ring. But, the Smash Brothers retained their titles, hitting their incredible finisher on the big man Punisher. You would have to see this move to believe it, as the best I could describe it would be a standing backslide/blockbuster combo, but that doesn't do it justice. I was glad to see the Smash Brothers win, as I prefer them to First Class and I am happy to see that they'll be back.

There was turmoil between Graham and Van Slyke after the match, as Kevin the Man slapped Punisher in the mouth pretty hard. Van Slyke stalked Graham to the back, almost catching up with Player Uno, who was still selling his way to the locker room. I saw Punisher in a singles match recently at In Your Face Wrestling in Whitehall, N.Y. and I'm almost looking forward to seeing him in singles matches after what I hope will be a grudge match-style feud with Graham.

(5) Jason Axe beat Masada. Axe is a 2CW staple and always gives 100 percent. I saw him in a Chikara Young Lions Cup qualifier in Syracuse, the crowd loved him, and he delivered as usual. Masada is the current CZW Heavyweight champion. An international wrestler well-traveled in Japan, Masada is a fearless death match wrestler. This match started off with three solid minutes of technical wrestling. The pace was fast and the action was awesome, but the crowd wasn't as into the fundamentals as you would like to see. They traded about 15 forearms to the jaw, which Masada smiled about and seemed to enjoy quite a bit. At one point, Masada tore away the ringside mats, only to be suplexed on the floor. Axe hit his trademark running somersault off the apron to the floor, but nearly missed Masada and hit the ground hard. Masada busted out some pretty awesome power moves, including a couple of hard powerbombs. Jason Axe eventually picked up the win in a clinic. Masada was added to the weekend doubleheader the day of the first event, and has wrestled for 2CW before and I loved seeing him live again. I really hope Masada comes back.

(6) 2CW champion Kevin Steen beat "Diehard" Eddie Edwards to retain the 2CW Title. I thought this would have been the main event. They didn't phone it in by any means, but they weren't shooting for a top-rate match. ROH is a bigger payday than 2CW, so you can't blame them for not going as hard as they can. Steen, who is a triple champion right now holding the PWG and ROH Titles, got some slack from a teenage kid as soon as he came out from behind the curtain. They had an exchange and the fan seemed to get the better of Steen with a DX crotch chop, getting a respectable and amusing pop. After feeling each other out, they started competitively trading shoulder blocks. Things escalated and both men exchanged over 15 running shoulderblocks, literally bouncing off each other. Pretty awesome. Steen set up what what I thought would be a corner cannonball senton, but instead hit a Bronco Buster. He did it to spite the kid who did the DX chop earlier, which was quite funny. Another exchange and Edwards nailed Steen with X-Pac's X Factor. Another exchange and Steen nailed Billy Gunn's Fameasser, asking the crowd what other moves DX does. I suggested a superkick. Edwards then hit Road Dogg's shaky knee drop, but Steen responded with a Pedigree, yelling to the crotch chop kid, "This is all because of you!" The DX spot was about five minutes of the match, and although they weren't giving 100 percent, it was fun to see them improvise on the fly. They picked up the pace a little bit and Steen hit his package piledriver on the apron. Wow. Steen eventually picked up the win. It would have been nice to see these guys in the main event giving it all, but they're both so good technically and Steen plays the crowd so well that it didn't matter. 8.5 out of 10.

I assumed intermission was next and went to my car. I came back in and the entire arena was dark, with music playing and DDP's inspirational yoga video playing on the screen. The lights came on and DDP cut a promo, mentioning that he was 56-years-old but he can still go. He said that he has one good match left in him and he would like to wrestle Randy Orton for using his finisher. A random comment, which sounded like DDP fishing for one last hurrah on WWE TV wrestling Orton. My Brother told me that DDP and Muscle Marcos exchanged slaps before DDP hit him with the Diamond Cutter. You can't blame DDP for not wrestling at his age, really. He certainly made out like a bandit tonight with the meet and greet, plus selling books or yoga DVDs. He came across as a salesmen/motivational speaker, which I guess is a persona he picked up while pushing his yoga. At one point, he told the crowd something along the lines of "You can do whatever you set your mind to," which got an amusing pop.

(7) All Money is Legal beat Team CK Carr & Cage. The crowd slipped a little bit during this match. Kage is a legitimate international superstar and an obvious veteran. He's a powerhouse and always brings his A-Game. He was part of a couple blown spots in this match and if you looked closely he only showed the slightest bit of frustration. A total pro. Carr always seems to have a strong if not small part of the local crowd behind him. I'm not very familiar with him, but he always gives a solid performance. I get him confused with Graham a lot. AMIL is a solid comedy act. At one point, Kage knocked the beads right out of one of their goatees. AMIL was pretty over-the-top ridiculous and pretty funny/entertaining. Kage hit his standard double clothesline, then K Pusha and K Murda hit Carr with their impressive running double brainbuster for the win. This was a decent match, but I think it dragged a little and the crowd was getting weary. I'd like to see Kage play the heel, as he claims to be very versatile. 5.5/10, overall.

(8) Slyck Wagner Brown beat Rich Swann, Jay Freddie, and Colin Delaney in a four-way match. Slyck is an indy veteran, Swann is a natural good guy and very over the top, Jay Freddie is a 2CW mainstay who I have enjoyed seeing fluctuate between face and heel for the last few months, and Delaney is always excellent in the ring as well as a great "persona." This was a two man in, two man out type match. The pace was set fast quickly as all four men took turns knocking each other out of the ring only to have the favor returned. Everyone traded big moves to the floor, with cross bodies, suicide dives, and a beautiful twisting somersault type move by Swann. These guys delivered a lot of fast-paced, hard-hitting action in a short amount of time. They avoided a dangerous situation for Delaney on a Tower of Doom spot, then Swann hit Freddie with a Cactus Jack clothesline to the floor, and Slyck made Delaney tap in an awkward submission. Swann was ushered to the back with what appeared to be a legit neck injury. It did seem the match was cut short, but the action was pretty non-stop and fast-paced while it lasted. 8.0/10.0, not counting the dance number.

Main Event time with Sami Callihan vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the first time ever. These two have been trash-talking each other for months on Twitter and I imagine got the match booked themselves. I've only seen Ciampa wrestle twice live, once on ROH TV. I haven't been able to cheer for him yet, as the last time I saw him wrestle was against Rhino. I like Ciampa, though, he's intense and really comes across as the "Sicilian Psychopath" that he claims to be. This was the first time that I've seen Callihan wrestle in five months and that's far too long.

(9) Tommaso Ciampa beat Sami Callihan in the main event. The crowd was as hot as they could be considering the conditions. Sami started the match off with a running big boot as the bell rang, followed by a few running bootscrapes to the face, Nick Gage style. I've seen Sami start matches like this on YouTube, but it was awesome to see in-person. Ciampa countered with a lariat that sent Callihan into a backflip, hitting a couple running knees to the face in the corner. These guys were stiff as hell this entire match and it was excellent. They exchanged some ridiculously hard chops, fighting on the outside of the ring. They exchanged headbutts and took turns tossing each other into the guardrails. Sammi hit a kick to Ciampa's leg, knocking him off the top head-first and setting him up for the Stretch Muffler, but Ciampa came back with an Air Raid siren and he nailed it. A super-risky move worth the price of admission. Both of these guys are fantastic and I can't wait to see them wrestle in-person again. Callihan could make at least as many shows as Steen and I would love to see the belt on him. A great choice for the main event. 9.0 out of 10.0; an awesome main event.

Overall, another awesome show from 2CW. The heat was rough, but that's part of what you sign on for. Match of the night was Callihan-Ciampa. Big move of the night was Ciampa's Air Raid Siren on the apron to Callihan. Sick.

2CW has an awesome roster of original talent coupled with good taste on outside talent. I was most excited to see Masada and Callihan. DDP was all right, but I think they should pay to bring someone in who would actually wrestle, although he sold tickets and you can't argue with that. The line-up for the next show is looking good. I would like to see Slyck get a shot at (and win) the the 2CW Title from Steen. Finally, a very good show despite some of the wrestlers bringing 90 percent. 8/10 overall, and 2CW always puts on an awesome show.

[Torch photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]

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