2CW Nightmare Before Christmas 2010 12/19/2010

Written by: Bob Colling

Squared Circle Wrestling presents Nightmare Before Christmas
Date: 12/19/2010
From: Syracuse, NY

The show opens with a video package hyping up the shows, which is awesome and gives teh DVD release an important feel to it. I was there live as well and it came across like we had a special event taking place.

Jason Axe and Portia Perez arrive to the arena with Axe pushing Perez against the car because she refused to get his bags. Axe slowly enters the arena with Perez behind him dragging his bags into the venue.

Opening Contest: Mike Bennett vs. Matt Taven: Bennett shoulder blocks Taven in the opening moments and blocks a monkey flip by stomping Matt on the face. Bennett slaps Taven and avoids Taven by going to the ropes. Taven slaps Bennett after getting out of a headlock and keeps control with arm drags, hip toss and a dropkick. Taven delivers a forearm smash in the corner followed by a cross body off the middle rope for a two count. Taven hits a springboard cross body but can’t keep Mike down long enough on the cover attempt. Taven rolls Bennett back into the ring to continue the contest. Bennett counters a cross body attempt with a dropkick to the chest to get control. Bennett keeps control with a scoop slam and taunts the fans. Bennett drops Taven over his knee in the corner for a near fall. Bennett sends Taven hard back first into the corner for a two count. Taven rolls Bennett up from the corner but Bennett quickly stops Taven with a back breaker for a two count.

They begin to trade punches until Taven hits a super kick to stop Bennett. Bennett charges but is met with two leg lariats and Taven hits a hurricanrana. Bennett avoids a springboard moonsault and drops Taven across the top. Taven comes back with a super kick and a spinning neck breaker. Taven leaps off the top to hit a frog splash and wins the match. (**1/4. A basic opening with Bennett not doing much to entertain with his offense. However, Taven showed some really good offense and has plenty of ability. It’s no wonder he has accomplished quite a bit since joining ROH.)

Backstage, First Class cut a promo regarding their upcoming match. ZSIII puts them over as being the greatest stable in wrestling history.

Second Contest: First Class vs. The Crazy Steves: This is a feud that had been going on since October when First Class was formed. They got just around eight minutes of action with the end seeing Punisher Van Slyke punching Mckenzie and helping Graham get a pin with a rollup. After the match, The Crazy Steves attack ZSIII to get some measure of revenge but a brawl occurs.

2CW Tag Team Champions Colin and Jimmy Olsen come out wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and cut a promo on the Kings of Wrestling, their challengers for the night. Colin says they already retained their titles against Hero and Claudio and don’t feel like they have done anything to warrant a rematch. Colin introduces their partner for a six man tag match, which is Sara Del Ray. Del Ray puts on a sweater to be like her new partners. Colin isn’t allowing Del Ray to say anything on the microphone which gets him some decent heat. Colin is second guessing the decision to haver her as their partner. Colin requests a back rub from Del Ray. Del Ray sends Colin into Jimmy and she takes out the champs with big boots! Portia Perez gets in the ring and helps the champs. Hero and Claudio run into the ring to make the save.

Third Contest: 2CW Tag Team Champions The Olsen Twins & Portia Perez vs. Kings of Wrestling & Sara Del Ray: Del Ray works over Perez early on with a snap suplex and a few kicks in the corner. Perez tags out to Colin but here comes Claudio. Jimmy puts Colin on his shoulders and Hero puts Claudio on his shoulders for a chicken fight. Claudio has a headlock on Colin in the chicken fight stance and knocks the champs down with a shoulder block! Claudio decks Colin with an uppercut and knocks Colin to the apron following another shot to the chest. Hero gets in the match and dropkicks Colin followed by a leaping forearm strike in the corner. Colin is rammed head first into the corner and the challengers hit Colin with a triple big boot. Jimmy tags in after Sara kicks Colin in the chest sending him to the corner. Del Ray works over Jimmy in the corner with a series of kicks. Claudio comes charging out of the corner with nail Jimmy with a clothesline and hits a middle rope elbow drop. Hero tags back in and hits a standing senton splash for a near fall.

Hero fights out of the champions corner with right hands. Hero takes Colin over with an arm drag and keeps control of the arm. Perez tags in to try her luck with Hero. Jimmy attacks from behind and Perez gets control with a few strikes. Hero has Perez setup for a double leg slam but the champs work over Hero in the corner to save her. Hero is slammed down by the champions and Jimmy scoop slams Colin onto Hero for a near fall. Perez chokes Hero to help the champs keep control of the contest. Colin leaps off the middle rope to hit an ace crusher on Hero and hits a Stunner as well. Jimmy keeps Hero on the mat with a hair pull. Jimmy stands on Hero’s hair and pulls the challenger up for some punishment. Colin comes back into the ring to prevent Hero from tagging out.

Jimmy works over Hero in the corner raking the body of Hero to keep him on the mat. Hero fights back chopping Colin but is sent to the floor with a dropkick from Colin. Jimmy rolls the mat over Hero and pummels Hero some more. Hero nails Colin with a Stunner but Jimmy gets the tag to prevent a tag from happening. Jimmy accidentally hits Colin and Hero fights back on the champs hitting Jimmy with a jumping spin yakuza kick. Claudio gets the tag and hits an uppercut on Colin. The champs are rammed into each other and Claudio press slams Portia onto Colin. Claudio takes out Jimmy with a axe handle to the floor but Perez hits a cross body to take Claudio out. Del Ray takes everyone out on the floor with a somersault dive off the apron. Colin leaps over the top to hit a somersault dive of his own. Hero hits a top rope moonsault to the floor! Jimmy is stopped by the referee from diving over the top. Jimmy has the referee and is sent over the top to the floor by the referee! The referee heads to the top rope and takes everyone out with a somersault dive off the top to the floor and the crowd goes nuts for that spot.

Colin puts Perez in front of him but Claudio takes them both down along with Jimmy on his shoulders. Claudio attempts a giant swing/airplane spin but isn’t able to do so as Hero comes in to dropkick Colin. Hero with an elbow to Jimmy and Del Ray hits a somersault kick. Hero decks Perez with a vicious elbow strike. Colin attempts a low blow on Del Ray which doesn’t work. Claudio and Colin go over the top to the floor. Jimmy uses the sweater to rollup Del Ray and gets three count. (**1/4. I didn’t like the match as much as I was hoping it would be great. The referee spot was the highlight of the match, which was a disappointment.)

Fourth Contest: Jason Axe vs. Jay Freddie in a last man standing match: Freddie takes Axe out with a dropkick off the apron to kickstart the match during Jason’s entrance. Freddie whacks Axe over the back with a steel chair and sends Axe hard into the guard railing. Freddie continues his offense with a big boot against the railing and dumps Axe into the crowd. They enter the ring and Freddie dropkicks a chair into Axe as they go to the apron trading strikes. Freddie yanks Axe down by his arm and Axe hits the apron chest first. Freddie hits a dangerous brain buster on the apron and plays to the crowd!

Jay takes Axe out with a suicide dive to the floor and whacks Axe over the back with a steel chair. Axe drop toe holds Freddie face first into the guard railing. Axe hits Freddie over the back with a kendo stick several times. Axe tosses a chair at Freddie hitting him in the face. Axe sets two chairs up in the ring and grabs Freddie hitting a suplex from the apron back into the ring. Axe breaks a lightbulb and uses a piece of broken glass to carve into Freddie’s head. Freddie has been busted wide open as Axe continues to work over Freddie. Freddie battles back and manages to hit a Death Valley Driver onto two chairs!

Freddie works over Axe in the corner and hits a running uppercut. Freddie hits a buckle bomb in the corner dropping Jason over a chair. Axe plants Freddie onto a chair with a spine buster. Axe puts Freddie on the top rope looking for a superplex but Freddie fights Axe off and dropkicks Jason on the middle rope. Freddie goes back up top and hits a top rope back suplex. Freddie and Axe trade strikes in the middle of the ring until Axe drops Freddie with a forearm shot. Axe sets up a table on the floor and got a ladder before entering the ring to toss a chair at Freddie to keep him down. Axe sets the ladder up on the floor next to the table. Axe spikes Freddie with a piledriver two times. Freddie counters a slam attempt and drops Axe with a tombstone piledriver.

They fight on the apron until Axe rams Freddie into the ring post dropping Freddie to the floor. Axe goes under the ring set up a ladder. Freddie tosses the ladder into Axe and puts Axe’s head in the ladder before sending him head first into the ring post. Freddie places Axe on the table and heads up the ladder but Axe cuts Freddie off. Axe leaps off the top rope and spears Freddie off the top of the ladder causing both men to go through the table on the floor!

Axe decides to take the referee out with a clothesline. Axe rolls a lifeless Freddie into the ring and tries to get a chair from the crowd but a fan prevents him. Axe attacks the fan and gets the chair into the ring. Axe sits Freddie on the chair and goes under the ring to get a rope. This is the infamous hanging moment where Axe ties the rope around Freddie’s neck and hangs Freddie from the ceiling to prevent Freddie from being counted out. Freddie is not even holding the rope like normal wrestlers would so he is getting choked out it would appear. Portia Perez comes out but is shoved down by Axe and they leave the ring. (***1/4. It’s a good match with several memorable spots before the controversial ending. They did a good job portraying hatred and it was a suitable match given the stipulation.)

Tim Ruff is in the ring and tells us that he wants to be a wrestler. Marcos comes down and makes quick work of Ruff after hitting a Slice Bread.

Fifth Contest: Muscle Marcos vs. Isys Ephex: Ephex nails Marcos with one kick to the head after Marcos did a handstand and wins the match in three seconds.

Sixth Contest: 2CW Heavyweight Champion Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Homicide: Brown has the early advantage working over Homicide with strikes but Homicide knocks the champ down with a leaping elbow strike. They go to the floor where Homicide back rakes Brown and hammers away on the champ. Homicide gouges Brown’s eyes but is sent back first into the corner. Homicide nails Brown over the head with a chair and tosses the chair into the ring. Homicide hits a running bulldog for a near fall. Brown works over Homicide in the corner with several strikes and gets a near fall. Homicide bites Brown’s hand it looks like and gets control hammering away on Brown in the corner. Brown battles back with a scoop slam and nails Homicide with a seated dropkick. Brown hits a slingshot leg drop across the apron and taunts the fans. Brown sends Homicide chest first into the guard railing to keep control of the title match on the floor. Homicide tangles Brown up in the railing and works over the champ with more strikes.

Homicide tries to use the ring steps but doesn’t use them and decides to choke Brown with the camera cord. Back in the ring, Brown backdrops Homicide and has a wooden piece of the ring steps but Homicide gets a shot in on Brown to get control of the match. Brown sets Homicide up with a double undertook but Homicide hits an overhead suplex for a near fall. Brown kicks Homicide while the challenger was trapped over the top rope. Homicide shoulder blocks Brown off the apron and hits a somersault suicide dive to the floor! Homicide hits a Flatliner but Brown is able to kick out before three. Brown low blows Homicide as Homicide tried to counter a suplex attempt. Brown tosses Homicide into the corner with a power bomb and locks in the Texas Cloverleaf but Homicide counters and gets a STF locked in but the champ doesn’t submit.

Brown punches Homicide on the apron and heads to the top rope but gets crotched. Homicide hits a middle rope ace crusher but only gets a near fall. Brown counters the Cop Killa and an ace crusher to hit a release German suplex and a leaping leg lariat for a near fall. Homicide plants Brown with a tornado DDT and follows up with a series of snap suplexs. Homicide heads to the top rope and attempts a big splash but Brown gets his knees up. Brown picks Homicide up and hits the Appreciation Bomb for the three count. (**. This was a slow plodding match. There was a few entertaining moments, but this felt a little too long. It’s a good victory for Brown considering Homicide still had some name value at the time.)

Main Event: American Wolves vs. TNA World Tag Team Champions Motorcity Machine Guns: Edwards and Shelley kick off the main event. They have a basic start to the match controlling each other on the canvas. Shelley controls Edwards on the mat and rolls him up for a near fall. Edwards backs Shelley into a corner but Shelley gets away from Richards and tags in Sabin. Richards takes Sabin down with a dropkick and they block a kick at the same time leading to a standoff and the fans appreciate the early moments of the match. Richards fakes a handshake and kicks Sabin in the midsection before tagging in Edwards. Sabin fights out of the corner with several strikes and the Guns begin to punch Edwards repeatedly in the corner. The Guns double team Edwards and Richards with running strikes and springboard elbow strikes in the corner.

Edwards goes to the floor and is kicked by Sabin on the apron. Guns hit a dropkick and a flipping neck snap combo on Richards to keep control. Guns followup by hitting two slingshot cross body blocks over the top to the floor. Richards drops Shelley’s leg across the middle rope and the Wolves focus their offense on the weakened leg. Richards has an Indian Death Lock on Shelley but isn’t able to get a submission. Edwards enters and has a modified leg submission with a bridge on Shelley before tagging in Richards. Shelley tries to fight back hitting both Wolves but isn’t able to make the tag to Sabin. Edwards knee strikes Shelley and double stomps Alex across Richards knees! Edwards hits a spinning back suplex and Richards gets a near fall with a missile dropkick on Shelley before locking in an ankle lock. Shelley gets out of it and almost tags in Sabin, but Edwards yanked Sabin off the apron.

Shelley avoids a kick from Edwards, who knocks out Richards on accident. Shelley finally makes the tag to Sabin who cleans house upon his entry hitting Richards with several forearm shots. Sabin takes Edwards out with a springboard cross body to the floor. Sabin hits a top rope cross body on Richards for a two count. Shelley kicks Richards from the apron and Sabin delivers a back breaker to allow Shelley to hit a top rope knee drop. Sabin plants Richards with a tornado DDT after kicking Edwards for a near fall. Edwards trips Alex on the apron to send him face first onto the apron. Wolves recover and hit stereo suicide dives. Richards nails Sabin with a high knee and forearm shot in the corner before getting a near fall with a German suplex. Edwards lifts Sabin up to allow Davey to hit a kick in midair and the Wolves it a Codebreaker/power bomb combo for a near fall. Richards has the ankle lock on Sabin but still can’t get a submission. Sabin nearly wins with a rollup counter. Richards gets a near fall with a discus clothesline on Sabin.

Eddie has Sabin on his shoulders but is sent into the corner to crotch Richards. Shelley hits the Slice Bread on Edwards. Sabin goes to the tops and hits a top rope hurricanrana sending Richards onto Edwards. Guns hit the Skull & Bones, or a neck breaker/big splash combo for the win. (***1/4. The finish was rather weak and didn’t come across like a proper way to beat the Wolves. It’s a good match, but not some kind of classic many would probably expect between these two teams. Still, an entertaining match that isn’t must-see.)

Final Thoughts:
This is an example of a stacked show on paper not really delivering an overly memorable show. The last man standing match and the main event were the best parts of the show each being good in their own ways. The Brown/Homicide match wasn’t all that good and I don’t recall them ever having a good match dating back to JAPW. The show is a two match show and I know the main event is viewable on YouTube if sought after. Otherwise, there isn’t much to see here.

Thanks for reading.