House of Hardcore results
June 6, 2014
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Report by Joe Napoli, PWTorch correspondent

- The top news of the show was House of Hardcore ran a TNA angle involving Tommy Dreamer and Dixie Carter. After the second match, Tommy Dreamer, with Devon and Abyss, came out to cut a promo to a big pop. He said a nationally syndicated show was filming the event and he couldn't speak on the situation further. Dreamer said Bully Ray had been pulled from the show for a Spike TV obligation. He said Dixie Carter pulled him from the show, which led to a "F--- that b----" chant. Dreamer said he will get Dixie for this, and said each and every week she disappoints the fan, and abuses the boys in the back.

Abyss then turned on them and said Dixie is his boss. Rhino came out for the save and then turned on Dreamer. Rhino said he would be the new partner. Dreamer offered a refund to those who wanted it and the fans chanted "No!" This set up the main event.

- The Poughkeepsie Civic Center, which holds about 2,000, was around 80 percent full, maybe more.

Lots of cool merchandise was available before the show. One of the vendors was selling Eva Marie autographs for $25, which seemed particularly expensive. Tommy Dreamer and Abyss were posing and selling autographs in the ring before the show. Godfather and Al Snow were working merch tables as well. There were lots of others signing merch at a separate table section I didn't visit.

- Showtime: The announcer came out and the crowd immediately booed an announcement that matches are sanctioned by the N.Y. State Athletic Commission. This was indicative of the crowd all night. Ready to pop for nonsense rather than the actual wrestling part of the action. There was no video screen, unlike past HOH events, which made it hard to learn the names of the unknown talent.

(1) Little Guido beat Matt Striker. Lots of comedy spots and "Where's My Pizza!" chants early on. Striker played the heel and Guido got the win with the Kill Switch. Fun little match that let the crowd get going on silly chants. Striker extended his hand and they hugged.

(2) Lance Anoa'i beat Ben Ortiz. The crowd was all over Ortiz for wearing a Bam Bam type suit. Anoa'i won with a Superfly splash. Fun match with a few big spots. Ortiz and Anoa'i both have futures.

The Tommy Dreamer promo was here.

(3) The Hurricane & Gangrel & Joe Caldo beat Vic Delicious & Cerebus & Bill Carr in a six-man tag match. Lots of comedy spots early. Hurricane got in some offense before Gangrel started taking a beating. Hurricane hit the chokeslam for the win. THe crowd was into this match that featured a mix of nostalgia and no-names. Pretty common indy type match in that regard.

(4) Hale Collins beat C.W. Anderson. Hale was the local boy and the crowd was getting on him. Collins won with a roll-up. Anderson attacked him after the match. Some enhancement guys attempted a save, but failed. And then...Sandman! It was the typical Sandman entrance and he kicked some ass.

Cutie Pie dressed as Peter Pan came out to Disney music and said he loves to cuddle. He got some heel heat with some really lame jokes and calling himself the "cutest in the game." Dreamer came out and he wasn't very happy. Dreamer passionately praised wrestling fans and the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. Dreamer eventually took him to the woodshed, and Cutie said he respected wrestling. Dreamers's HOH students came out to beat him up and it eventually led to a battle royal. Cutie ran out of the ring before the match.

(5) A local guy won the battle royal and the crowd popped big. This was actually a very good match considering all the participant were students. They kept is short, which was a good thing.

(6) Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) beat Eddie Kingston & Homicide. Bad Influence played the faces. Lots of anti-TNA chants to start the match and Kingston did a good job inciting the crowd. B.I. fought from behind in what was a very good match. Daniels hit the BME for the win.

(7) Kevin Steen beat Adam Pearce. Pearce drew some good heel heat with lines like "shut your ass." Steen was over big like always. The crowd was really into this and for good reason. Both guys are seasoned pros. Very good brawl with Steen winning with a senton off the top rope. Pearce played his role really well and wrestlers could learn a lot about psychology from him.

[ Intermission: I got an autograph from Matt Striker and talked a little WWE psychology. He was very nice. Also saw Al Snow and Chris Hero working the merch tables. ]

(8) Petey Williams beat Tony Nese and Alex Reynolds in a three-way match. This match was guaranteed to be a spotfest, and it didn't disappoint. Nese is very good at spots, and definitely shows some promise. This match was shameless about what it was, and it was damn fun. Great spot where Reynolds was in Sharpshooter and still trying to pin Nese. Williams hit the Canadian Destroyer on Reynolds for the win.

(9) A.J. Styles beat Chris Hero. Huge pop for Styles before fading into more derogatory TNA chants. It's an indictment against WWE and TNA that this match even happened. It was very good and Styles won with the Styles Clash. They paced the nearly 20 minute match well with big spots and good transitions.

(10) Tommy Dreamer & Devon beat Abyss & Rhino. The crowd wanted tables and they wanted them badly. Trash can was first weapon used. The tables came out about five minutes in. Devon took the first one with a Gore! Dreamer took an Abyss chokeslam into thumbtacks. Out came Spike Dudley with an Acid Drop and then the pin by Dreamer. Surprisingly short match, like ten minutes but it was good for what it was. They celebrated in the ring after.

Overall, this was a very good card if you're into indy/nostalgia wrestling. It definitely didn't translate for my fiancé, who only knows modern WWE.

At three-and-a-half hours, this card was very long and the probably could have put together a more enjoyable show if they eliminated a few matches. HOH isn't perfect, but it keeps evolving. The students are clearly getting better, and Dreamer's dedication to the project is evident.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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