House Of Hardcore II 6/22/2013

Written by: Bob Colling

House of Hardcore 2
Date: 6/22/2013
From: Philadelphia, PA

Looks to be a decent crowd for HOH number two. There are plenty of seats available in the bleachers, though. A strong card for an independent show, let’s see how they deliver.

Opening Contest: Hale Collins vs. Crowbar: It’s kind of remarkable how Crowbar is still managing to work in the year 2013. Crowbar hit a nice overhead belly to belly suplex but Collins quickly came back with a kick to the head and a cross body over the top to the floor. The fans got on Collins for messing up a Fame-Asser move. Hale kept control but only got a few near falls and soon suffers a few leg drops to the lower groin area. Crowbar connects with a top rope hurricanrana but Collins pops his shoulder up at two. Hale counters a moonsault attempt with a running powerbomb out of the corner but Crowbar kicked out again. Collins nearly wins after a top rope elbow drop. Crowbar drives Collins down with a sit out spine buster and gets the win with a dragon sleeper. (**. Some decent action here to kick off the show. Crowbar is still talented enough in the ring where it’s not painful to watch him wrestle, and he deserves some recognition for that. Collins has some talent and could develop into a good hand for HOH.) After the match, Crowbar announces that this match is most likely his last match.

Second Contest: Little Guido vs. Vik Dalishus: Guido got a really big ovation for his entrance. Guido had the early advantage with some mat wrestling based offense. Guido dropkicks Vik to the floor from the apron. Vik’s manager holds Guido leg from the floor to allow a leg drop and for a cheap advantage. Vik gets a near win following a Samoan Drop and a side slam. Guido battles back with a side Italian leg sweep and a dropkick to the face for a two count. Guido almost wins with the Silician Slice but Vik won’t stay down and hits a spine buster. Vik misses a twisting corkscrew off the top rope. Guido goes for a Un-Prettier but Vik counters with a roll up for the win. (*1/2. The fans didn’t want to see Guido lose that one. The win gives Vik a lot of heat afterward, which will hopefully be used on future shows.) After the match, Vik cuts a promo that I can’t hear all that well since the microphone can only be heard in the arena. Blue Meanie comes down to confront Vik. They do the Harlem Shake at ringside. The fans seem to be a little confused. Vik gets a clean win but is attacked by Guido and Meanie. Oh wait, here comes the Sandman. In a strange sight, Sandman doesn’t have a beer or a cigarette. They are now all dancing to Fandango’s theme music. Sandman takes off the woman manager wig off and kendo sticks Vik’s male manager. This one went on a little too long.

Third Contest: MVP vs. Sami Callihan: They trade some slaps to open the match and they are just going right after each other. MVP comes off the ropes to deliver a big boot to a seated Callihan. Sami knocks MVP off the apron with a clothesline and a suicide dive underneath the middle rope to the floor. MVP avoids a charging Sami and big boots Sami over the railing into the crowd. Callihan tosses a chair at MVP several times. MVP fights back in the crowd with a snap suplex. MVP drops Sami back first across the ring apron. Sami gains control after yanking MVP off the middle rope and tries for a submission but MVP reaches the bottom rope. Sami hits a superplex and gets a near fall. MVP avoids a top rope big splash and Sami hits the canvas hard. MVP clotheslines Sami in the corner a couple of times and hits a t-bone suplex. MVP continues his offense with a series of German suplexs. Sami avoids a kick in the corner to deliver one of his own on MVP. Sami delivers a running kick in the corner to a seated MVP. Sami kicks MVP’s left knee on the middle rope causing Montel to crash to the mat. MVP delivers a side kick to knock Sami off his feet. Callihan isn’t affected by the kicks and begins to chop MVP before delivering a kick to the lower body. Sami has the Stretch Muffler locked in but MVP nearly countered. MVP only gets a two count out of the Playmaker. MVP can’t get a three count and is getting frustrated, well, that’s until a second kick to the head gets the win and that’s it. (**1/4. I probably should have been into this match more, but I can’t recall a time when MVP truly entertained me or kept my interest. It’s a decent match but the finish is rather dull to me. Maybe I’ll have to re-watch this to see if it really was that average.)

Fourth Contest: Carlito vs. Mike Bennett: Early on, Bennett takes Carlito down with hip tosses and makes out with Maria. Carlito backdrops Bennett and feels up Maria, who doesn’t realize it for a few moments. Carlito keeps control with swinging neck breaker but can’t get a three count on the cover attempt. Rosita comes out and chases Maria at ringside while Bennett works over Carlito’s leg. Carlito with a flurry of clotheslines and a knee lift. Carlito hits a springboard back elbow and is met with a superkick after Maris gets in the ring. Rosita gets in the ring and has a catfight with Maria. Carlito spits apple at Maria and Bennett nails Carlito with a big boot. Carlito counters a suplex to hit a Backstabber. Rosita hits a moonsault and they pin Bennett. (*. Well, not a good match and the fans weren’t exactly into it. Carlito use to be so cool almost ten years ago. Not so much nowadays.)

Fifth Contest: Tony Nese vs. Alex Reynolds vs. Petey Williams: Williams hits a head scissors on Reynolds early on as Nese was sent to the floor. Petey comes off the middle rope to hit a hurricanrana as well. Nese pulls Williams to the floor and drives him back first into the ring apron. Nese kicks Reynolds a few times before sending Alex to the floor with a clothesline. Nese cartwheels on the apron to kick Petey and takes Reynolds out with a sick dive over the top and the crowd erupts for that! Reynolds has Nese tied up on the bottom rope and dropkicks Nese. Reynolds drives Nese down with a back breaker and gets a near fall. Williams gets in n the offense with a German suplex on Reynolds. Nese spears Reynolds in the corner. Nese is driven head first into Reynolds groin. Williams hits a suicide dive in the ring and follows up with a side Russian leg sweep for a near fall. Petey slingshots out of the ring to hit a hurricanrana on Nese on the floor. Reynolds double stomps Petey in the corner after getting his feet up in the corner. Reynolds hits a moonsault but Nese enters to hit a German suplex. Nese nearly pins Williams after a nice pump handle power bomb. Nese hits a springboard moonsault for a near fall on Reynolds. Williams has the Sharpshooter on Nese! Petey sends Reynolds to the floor and Nese power bombs Williams into the corner. Reynolds big boots Nese, who flips around and is nearly pinned. Reynolds hits a German suplex on Petey out of the corner. Nese misses a moonsault, Reynolds sends Petey to the floor. Reynolds hits the Reynolds Wrap and a Stunner on Nese, who is eliminated now. Williams hits a Codebreaker and plants Reynolds with the Canadian Destroyer for the win. (**3/4. Okay, I had no idea it was an elimination match. These three put together a fun match but Tony Nese stole the match in my opinion. He is incredibly skilled, something I never recalled seeing when he was briefly in TNA.)

Sixth Contest: Eddie Kingston & Homicide vs. the Steiner Brothers: Scott and Kingston kick off the bout. Scott hammers away on Kingston in the corner and hits an overhead suplex. Scott drops an elbow and does his pushup taunt. Homicide enters to attack Scott to help Kingston. Rick enters and drops Homicide with a clothesline. They do their trademark taunt in the middle of the ring. Rick comes off the ropes and is met with a double shoulder block. Rick catches Eddie in midair to deliver a power slam! Homicide gets a Rings of Saturn on Rick but can’t get a submission. Rick fights back with a double clothesline. Homicide delivers an ace crusher and misses a diving head butt. Scott gets the hot tag and cleans house. Scott drops Kingston with a Flatliner and we see the Steiner bulldog on Kingston, which wasn’t perfectly done at all. (*. They did their well-known spots and got some good bumps thanks to Homicide and Kingston.)

Seventh Contest: FWE Heavyweight Champion John Hennigan vs. Too Cold Scorpio: This is being promoted as a dream match, which is not something I would have thought of. I mean, maybe if this was Scorpio in 1995, but not in 2013. Hennigan won the FWE Heavyweight Championship the previous night by defeating Carlito.

Early on, they go with a mat wrestling start which isn’t all that interesting to me considering their styles. They decide to have a dance-off and the fans are not all that interested in wanting that. So, they naturally drag that portion of the segment out. Hennigan no sells a German suplex and hits a springboard kick to get a near fall on Scorpio as the pace finally picks up. On the floor, Scorpio drops the champ with a spin kick. Scorpio punches Hennigan over the railing into the front row. Hennigan soon fights back with kicks on the floor. They get back into the ring where Scorpio has control with a suplex but Hennigan blocks a standing moonsault with his knees. Hennigan hits a springboard clothesline from the apron for a near fall. Hennigan connects with a standing shooting star press for a two count. Scorpio bails to the floor and kicks Hennigan against the railing.

Scorpio takes Hennigan out with a cross body on the floor and heads to the top to hit a missile dropkick in the ring but only gets a near fall. Scorpio delivers a flipping heel kick in the corner to maintain control. Scorpio nearly wins after a moonsault. A middle rope somersault leg drop for another near fall by Scorpio. A top rope leg drop but Hennigan continues to kick out. Hennigan comes out of nowhere to knock Scorpio out with a spinning kick. The fans are showing their interest by just chanting anything. Scorpio stops Hennigan with a spinning heel kick. Hennigan nearly wins after a running knee and it seems like the fans just want this to end.

Hennigan kicks Scorpio on the top rope and hits an elevated inverted suplex! Hennigan hits the Starship Pain and wins. The crowd erupts, but probably because it’s over. (**. The crowd was completely uninterested in this and their random chants including “We Want Ziggler” weren’t funny. It’s not a good match, but Scorpio is still able to hit his top rope moves nicely.)

Eighth Contest: Brian Kendrick & Paul London vs. the Young Bucks: Kendrick and Matt kick off the tag match. Neither man gets a long lasting advantage in the opening moments of the bout. London tags in and double stomps Matt’s left arm. Nick tags in but is met with a spinning kick from London for a near fall. Kendrick and London hip toss the Bucks to keep control of the bout. London takes care of the Bucks himself until Matt takes London out with a somersault dive on the floor! Back in the ring, Matt works over London and taunts the fans. A gut buster turned into a neck breaker and then a back breaker by the Bucks on London was nicely done.

Kendrick gets the got tag and cleans house with clotheslines. Kendrick is back dropped to the floor by Nick and they send London off the apron to the floor with a dropkick. A double stomp to Kendrick’s arm by the Bucks to maintain control of the bout. Kendrick is double teamed in the corner for a few moments. Kendrick tries to fight back but is stopped by a super kick. Kendrick fights out of the corner as the Bucks collide. London gets the hot tag and cleans house with dropkicks. London walks into a spinning back elbow by Nick. London kicks Nick while Matt accidentally had a head scissors on his partner. Matt is sent by London into the corner with an overhead belly to belly suplex.

Everyone hits super kicks and Kendrick goes for a Slice Bread but runs into a kick from Matt on the apron instead. London gets a power bomb/kick in the corner combo by the Bucks. London tries to fight off both Bucks and manages to hit a tombstone piledriver on Matt on the concrete floor! London goes for the cover but only gets a near fall. Kendrick fails at the Slice Bread and is met with a double super kick. Bucks hit a springboard spike tombstone on London but Kendrick breaks up the cover! Kendrick is met with a double super kick to the floor. More Bang For Your Buck on London and that’s good enough for the three. (***1/2. A great finishing sequence to a good tag match and a huge victory for the Bucks over the team of London and Kendrick. The fans show their appreciation afterward as these four put on the best match on the card.)

Main Event: Tommy Dreamer vs. Lance Storm: Early on they have a stand-off as neither man can get a clear advantage. Storm elbows Dreamer in the corner and hits a hip toss followed by a few strikes. Storm attempted a cross body but is caught and sent down with a fall away slam. They are on the floor where Dreamer controls Storm. Dreamer has the ring bell and uses it on Storm on the floor. Tommy rings the bell on Lance’s groin as well! Storm avoids another one by kicking Tommy as he entered the ring. Dreamer misses a spear in the corner and hits the ring post. Storm wraps Dreamer’s arm around the ring post. Storm hits a springboard clothesline from the apron for a near fall.

Storm keeps control with a leg lariat and a vertical suplex. Dreamer blocks a super kick attempt and hammers away on Lance. Tommy sends Storm face first into the middle turnbuckle. Storm drop toe holds Tommy face first onto a steel chair. Lance uses a chair on Tommy. Dreamer crotches Lance on the top rope and puts Storm in the tree of woe. Tommy dropkicks the chair into Storm’s face in the corner. Storm avoids a frog splash from the top rope and dropkicks Dreamer’s knee. Lance has the Canadian Maple Leaf locked in!

Dreamer reaches the bottom rope to break the hold. Storm whacks Dreamer on the knee with a steel chair. Terry Funk gets on the apron and into the ring to confront Storm. Funk jabs Storm several times. Funk works over Storm with a spinning toe hold but here comes Sean Waltman to attack Funk with Storm! A ladder is brought into the ring by Storm. Dreamer comes in and helps Funk. Storm accidentally super kicks Waltman and Dreamer slingshots Storm into the ladder. A double DDT on Storm and that’s good enough for the win. (**. An average match at best here. I’m personally beyond tired of the throwback to ECW stuff. Nothing spectacular here folks.)

Final Thoughts:
It’s a one match show for the most part. HOH appears to be interesting if you like a mix of past, current and future stars with the past guys going over and taking part of otherwise not so great matches. The shows are usually great on paper, but have left me disappointed thus far.

Thanks for reading.