SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ENJOY WRESTLING CANNED HEAT: EPISODE 3 OF 4
MARCH 11, 2021
PITTSBURGH, PA
AIRED ON YOUTUBE
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Effy, Rich Bocchini
Enjoy Wrestling is a brand-new indie promotion out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Slated to begin life in the spring of 2020 but thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic, their first tapings ever took place in January and that footage now sees the light of day as a four-episode YouTube series called Canned Heat. The first episode premiered two weeks ago with the finale dropping next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. EST. Canned Heat covers the entirety of an eight-person tournament with competitors vying to win the first Enjoy Cup.
We opened with highlights from the four opening round matches. A new promo from MV Young was mixed in with Young challenging Mr. Grim to make their match tonight a PolyAm Cult Street Fight.
-Opening theme.
-Ring announcer Meg Fair opened the second round.
(Pageot’s Perspective: This episode was taped back in January but recent developments from the past week include Still Life With Apricots & Pears becoming Edith Surreal and Lee Moriarty defeating Warhorse to become the new IWTV Independent Wrestling Champion. We’ll refer to them as such going forward.)
-Last week Ziggy Haim stole Surreal’s mask after their match so Surreal showed up here for the first time in her latest gear, both hair and midriff exposed.
(1) EDITH SURREAL vs. IWTV INDEPENDENT WRESTLING CHAMPION LEE MORIARTY – SEMI-FINAL MATCH IN THE ENJOY CUP
Side headlock take down by Surreal. Moriarty pushed her into the ropes and went for a drop down but Surreal dropped down and slapped the headlock back on. Moriarty slipped out. Straitjacket from Surreal. Chain wrestling into an Indian death lock on Moriarty. Back and forth exchanges ended in a stalemate. Slow going as we passed the five-minute mark, seemingly pacing themselves for a longer one. Single-leg dropkick from Moriarty for the first strike of the match. Chops and clothesline in the corner. Surreal bounced his head off the turnbuckle and hit a springboard dropkick. Anklelock from Surreal. She continued to hold on and work over the left knee. Into a Venus Flytrap but Moriarty managed to push her off. Surreal remained in control, stretching Moriarty’s leg in a muffler-type move on the mat. Springboard arm drag from Surreal but Moriarty cut her off with a crossbody. He followed with a slingshot crossbody. Saito suplex for a two-count on Surreal. He looked to stomp away at Surreal but she grabbed the leg and pulled him back to the mat. Moriarty hung up in the corner and Surreal hit a dropkick to the knee, wrapped around the rope. Moriarty hung upside down in the corner and took two dropkicks. Surreal back into the deathlock but he was able to roll to the rope break. They locked up and rolled a full lap around the ring, ending with Moriarty pinning her shoulders down.
WINNER: Lee Moriarty in 13:28.
-Moriarty spoke into the camera and said he’s the best wrestler in Pittsburgh.
(Pageot’s Perspective: You can hardly call it an upset when the new IWTV Champion walks away victor but Surreal was undefeated in tournaments before tonight so history was made. A good technical match with a lot of joint work and stretches. It definitely felt like there was a feeling-out process at points as they got to know one another. This is the type of pairing that will get better and better each time they face each other so hopefully we don’t have to wait too long before we see a rematch. I also have to call out how fantastic Effy has been on commentary. He should really be doing this more frequently somewhere.)
-Backstage Meg Fair was with MV Young. They asked how he was feeling about facing Grim. Young said they know each other really well. Last time they met he stomped Grim’s face into the ground of New York. Now they’re in Young’s state of Pennsylvania. If Grim doesn’t leave the games backstage, MV is going to fuck him up.
-Another paid advertisement aired for David Lawless, Esq. “Lawless is flawless” and he’s coming soon.
-Young entered first. Effy acknowledged Young defeating Grim for The Wrestlers Lab Championship last August in Brooklyn. Before he could enter the ring Grim jumped out of the shadows, chucking a body bag onto Young, and knocked him into some seats.
(2) MR. GRIM vs. THE WRESTLERS LAB CHAMPION MV YOUNG – POLYAM CULT STREET FIGHT, SEMI-FINAL MATCH IN THE ENJOY CUP
Grim draped the body bag over Young and clubbed away at him. Grim pulled Young’s face into the ring post. They brawled around ringside. He choked Young with both hands on the floor. They rolled into the ring for the first time at 2:43 but Grim immediately rolled out the other side. Young followed him to the time keeper’s table and rang the ring bell directly in Grim’s ear. Grim’s equilibrium was off and Young hit a double-stomp. Young found some steel chairs under the ring but Grim pushed the referee into Young and used the distraction to lock in a dragon sleeper. Grim clubbed away at Young’s chest. Grim covered on the floor and the referee counted two.
Young bit his way free and they headed into the ring. Young set up two chairs with the seats facing each other. He wanted a suplex but Grim powered out and chokeslammed Young onto the seats of the two chairs. Young bounced off, the chairs refusing to break. Grim bent Young’s wrist backwards over the leg of the chair. Back body drop from Grim. Grim trapped Young in the corner with a chair and kneed it into Young’s midsection. Young countered a suplex and suplexed Grim onto a flat chair.
Young left and returned with a ladder. He laid it diagonal from the top turnbuckle to the mat. Grim back dropped Young onto the ladder, then stood on Young’s ankle on the ladder. Young howled in pain. Grim wanted a powerbomb onto the ladder. Young low-blowed his way free. Young jabbed Grim in the stomach with two chair shots. Penalty kicks to the spine of Grim. Young laid a chair across Grim’s chest and went up top but Grim threw the chair into Young’s face. They threw punches but Young managed to jump off and into a tornado DDT on the chair. Young got two but Grim kicked out.
Grim hit a springboard forearm out of nowhere. Young kicked out in a good near-fall. Young with a dropkick off the top rope. Grim stumbled and fell back onto the diagonal ladder. Back senton from Young onto Grim on the ladder but Grim kicked out again. Grim rolled to the floor and looked to be leaving. Young went after him but Grim caught him with a chop block on the apron. Grim fired up and pummeled away at Young. He wrapped Young’s left arm backwards across the bottom rope. Grim found a door under the ring and set it up horizontally in the corner, balanced on the second ropes. The referee checked on Young. Young powered up Grim for a death valley driver and hit it onto the door, which didn’t break. With Grim laid across the door, Young went up top and hit Kill The Rich. To punctuate things he ran off the ropes and nailed Grim with the running knee to the back of the head.
WINNER: MV Young in 16:34.
-Young grabbed a mic at ringside and addressed Moriarty. He’s been chasing Moriarty for six years and he proved tonight that he’s not just a character, he’s one of the best wrestlers in North America.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Two matches that couldn’t have been more different from one another, but both great as Enjoy looks to define their identity early. This was the best match of the tournament so far and a testament to what I was saying before about wrestlers being familiar with each other. These guys know each other well and it showed here. Grim conveys his power masterfully. Even when he’s just pushing somebody’s arm across a rope it genuinely looks like it hurts like hell. And Young is so wholly in control of his character that even when he hits a low blow it doesn’t feel heelish or cowardly like it could with another babyface. He’s been probably the biggest revelation in wrestling for me personally in the past nine months and he’s my pick to win this whole tournament, even if it seems like all the momentum in the world is behind Moriarty right now. Next week it’s champion vs. champion in a seemingly one-match show.)
-Credits to close us out.
-Next week: it’s the finals of the first Enjoy Cup with MV Young vs. Lee Moriarty.
Find Harley on Twitter @yrechoheart and listen to he and Emily Fear discuss the power of women’s wrestling every Tuesday on the PWTorch Dailycast “Grit & Glitter.”
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