2CW Living On The Edge X Night One 4/4/2015

Written by: Bob Colling

Squared Circle Wrestling presents Living On The Edge X Night One
Date: 4/4/2015
From: Watertown, NY

I attended this show with three of my good friends mainly on just a whim because we all wanted to see Samoa Joe take on AR Fox in a singles match. $20 for a GA ticket seemed more than reasonable for that likely incredible match. As you’ll read on, that match didn’t happen as scheduled. Nevertheless, we were surprised by the attendance for the show as the college gym was PACKED and has to be on the best attended shows in 2CW history. Onto the review…

Opening Contest: Dave & Jake Crist vs. Handicapped Heroes vs. Loca Vida & Steve McKenzie in an elimination match: Gowen and Jake kick off the match with Gowen rolling around the ring and Jake is pissed because the match was supposed to be a tag match not a three way dance. Loca gets tagged in to try his luck with Gowen, but they knock the Crist brothers off the apron. Iron tags in works over Vida with chops but misses a few clotheslines allowing Vida to take the Crist brothers out with a suicide dive on the floor. Iron takes them all out with a springboard dive to the floor. Gowen attempts a top rope dive but McKenzie stopped him and hit a cross body to take everyone out on the floor. Gowen has recovered and comes off the top rope to hit a moonsault to the floor, which the fans appreciated. Gowen is nailed by Vida and McKenzie with kicks but the Crist brothers enter to drop them with running kicks. McKenzie is met with a knee drop off the top across Jake’s knees but the cover is broken up. Iron hammers away on Vida playing to the crowd. Vida attempts the 315 but Irons plants Vida with a reverse STO to eliminate Vida and McKenzie from the match.

Jake has control over Iron tagging in Dave to maintain the advantage. Iron attempts a rollup but is soon met with a clothesline from Dave. Gowen continues to be yanked or knocked off the apron by the Crist brothers. Jake nearly pins Iron following a top rope senton and hits a standing moonsault for a two count. Iron fights back out of the corner and leaps off the top to hit a cross body on both men. Gowen gets the hot tag and plants Dave with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Gowen hits a reverse STO on Jake but is stopped by a chop block from Dave. Iron is double teamed in the corner as Jake hit an overhead suplex. Gowen avoids a running Jake and kicks Dave to the canvas. Gowen misses a top rope moonsault and is met with a super kick from Jake. Crist Brothers hit a spike tombstone piledriver and pin Gowen. (**. Not an awful way to kick off the show, but it seemed like Gowen and Iron got over with the crowd and everyone seemed to be into Gowen and his house of fire segment of the match. They didn’t go overboard with flashy moves and the action was decent throughout.)

Second Contest: Guy Sunshine vs. Isys Ephex: Sunshine came out to AJ Lee’s music and dressed like the female wrestler. An odd start to the match as Isys just kicks the crap out of Sunshine. Guy ducks a blow and gives Ephex a hug. Sunshine grinds Ephex on a go behind attempt. Ephex dropkicks Sunshine into a corner and delivers a forearm shot. Guy does a handstand in the corner but is kicked right on the face. They trade blows on the apron until Sunshine dropkicks Ephex attempting to get back in the ring. Ephex double stomps Sunshine to avoid a sunset flip attempt. Ephex grabs Sunshine and attempted a burning hammer, but Sunshine avoided it. Sunshine leaps off the middle rope to hit a head scissors and soon hit a neck breaker for a near fall. Ephex attempted a death valley driver but settles for a sit down power bomb for a two count. Isys clotheslines Sunshine in the corner and hits a top rope cross body. Ephex locks in an arm submission and gets the submission. (*. Quite sloppy and there wasn’t a connection to the match to really care about it. Sunshine is over as a comedy character, but nothing more than that. I don’t think anyone knows how to take the serious Ephex.)

Jason Axe came out in a dog suit, mocking Triple H.

Third Contest: East Coast Player NTG vs. Pepper Parks vs. Kevin Graham vs. Jason Axe in a number one contenders match: Axe sends Player to the floor with a clothesline while Parks hits a snap power slam on Graham. Parks battles Axe in the ring while Graham works over Player on the outside. Axe spears both Graham and Player off the apron to the floor. Parks takes everyone out with a somersault dive over the top to the floor. Player gets some time to shine hitting basic moves on Parks and Graham. Graham leaps off the middle rope to hit a reverse STO and Player is eliminated.

Parks takes Graham down with a jumping neck breaker and is stopped by Axe on the top rope. Graham power bombs Axe while Axe takes Parks over with a superplex out of the corner. All three men trade blows until Parks super kicks them both and hits splashes in the corner. Axe stops Parks with a right hand and Graham delvers a running kick. Axe kicks Graham into the corner laying Kevin across the top turnbuckle. Axe drops Graham across the top rope and Parks leaps off the top to hit a neck breaker which is good enough for a three count and eliminates Graham.

We’re down to Axe and Parks as they start off trading a flurry of strikes in the middle of the ring. They both attempt clotheslines but neither man goes down. Parks turns Axe inside out with a clothesline. Both men attempt vertical suplexs but neither man succeeds. Parks attempts a sunset flip from the apron into the ring but Axe sits down and uses the ropes for leverage to win the match. (*. The push of Jason Axe never ends, I tell ya. Not a good match, and the action was very bland.)

Fourth Contest: Ted Goodz & Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke: Goodz and Mamaluke kick off the tag match with Mamaluke taunting Goodz. Goodz knocks Mamaluke to the mat and Tony bails to the floor to regroup. Scotty is bouncing on the ropes and promptly falls off the apron from his excitement. Goodz knocks Mamaluke down with a dropkick but Guido quickly tags in. Scotty tags in and works over Guido with some basic offense. Scotty gets the crowd to do his arm taunt and continues to work over Guido. Scotty slams down Guido and Mamaluke. Goodz and Scotty double team Guido for a near fall. Goodz gets singled out and is worked over by Mamaluke. Goodz is double teamed for a few moments as Scotty tries to get a tag on the apron. Scotty gets the tag but the referee is distracted by Mamaluke. Goodz drops Mamaluke with a kick to the head. Mamaluke has a chokehold on Goodz but Goodz manages to counter with a suplex into the corner. Scotty finally gets the hot tag and cleans house on the heels. Scotty nearly pins Mamaluke with a leaping forearm strike. Scotty hits the bulldog on Mamaluke and signals for the WORM. Scotty hits the WORM and pins Mamaluke. (*3/4. They got the crowd into it and they seemed to like the nostalgia of an Attitude Era act. The action isn’t anything all that memorable. Just a way for an old-timer to get over, I guess.) After the match, Guido suffers the same fate as his partner.

Fifth Contest: Brute Van Slyke vs. Necro Butcher in a no holds barred match: Butcher tosses the referee down because he’s hardcore and goes right after Brute ramming him head first into the turnbuckles several times. Butcher puts a plastic bag over Brute’s face and sends the referee into Brute. Butcher low blows Brute and they go to the floor. Butcher has a belt with him and whips Brute across the back several times. Brute sends Butcher into the ring post. There isn’t a referee as Brute went for a cover. Brute works over Butcher in the corner with several strikes. Butcher fights back with clubbing blows in the corner and plays to the crowd. Brute power bombs Butcher out of the corner but Necro puts a sleeper on Brute, which doesn’t work. Brute goes to the floor and grabs a steel chair to whack Butcher several times over the back. Butcher low blows Brute a few times to avoid a suplex. Brute finishes Butcher off with the lariat. (DUD. I remember hoping for Butcher to pull out one of his crazy matches, but no such luck, my friends. This was slow, nothing overly hardcore between the two, and it just dragged along. At least Brute went over.)

The whole reason of going to the show was for the Samoa Joe vs. AR Fox match, but due to Joe having a minor knee injury and a likely WWE debut, the match was changed to a tag match where Joe teams with AR Fox against JT Dunn and Cheech.

Sixth Contest: JT Dunn & Cheech vs. Samoa Joe & AR Fox: Joe and Fox go on the attack with Dunn and Cheech being sent to the floor. Fox takes them out with a springboard twisting dive. Joe hits a running big boot on Cheech sending his head into the railing. Dunn gets tossed into Cheech, as well before Joe delivers a running boot to Dunn. Joe works over Dunn in the ring with several jabs. Fox hits a clothesline and Joe connects with a twisting kick. Fox pulls himself up from the apron and kicks Dunn. The referee calls for the bell to signal for the legal start to the match. Fox takes Dunn over with a snap suplex. Joe enters the match and delivers a leg drop. Fox enters and double stomps Dunn over the back for a two count. Cheech gets tagged in and controls Fox on the canvas. Fox gets kicked a couple of times and Dunn hits a nice slingshot face buster, which Fox sells nicely giving Cheech a near fall. Fox continues to be worked over by Dunn and Cheech as Joe tries to get involved but the referee stops him. Dunn dropkicks Fox off the apron into the guard railing. Fox tries to fight back but Cheech stops Fox with a knee lift to the back. Dunn hits a standing double stomp and Cheech hits a slingshot senton but the referee is distracted again.

Cheech takes Fox down to the mat with a back suplex. Fox hits a slice bread on Cheech and a springboard ace crusher on Dunn. Joe gets the hot tag and cleans house on Dunn and Cheech. Joe takes Dunn out with a yakuza kick and dumps Cheech to the floor. Joe hits a snap power slam but Dunn kicks out at two. Dunn plants Joe with a tornado DDT and Cheech hits a top rope knee drop, but Joe won’t stay down on the cover. Fox hits a missile dropkick on Dunn. Dunn drops Joe with a forearm shot. Fox springboards off the ring post to hit a moonsalt on Cheech on the floor. Joe is up and chops Dunn followed by jabs. Joe stops Dunn with an STO and hits the Muscle Buster. Fox hits the 450 splash and Joe covers to get the win. (***. At the time, I didn’t care about the match because I was disappointed in the switch, but it’s a fine tag match. I was worried early on that it was going to be a squash but Dunn and Cheech both got some moments to shine. However, the fans wanted to see Joe dominate and that’s what they got. AR Fox is seriously an incredible performer.)

Seventh Contest: Colin Delaney vs. Jay Freddie: They had a mat wrestling start with neither man getting a clear advantage. Freddie gets control of the arm but nothing substantial comes of it as they have a standoff after Delaney breaks free. They have another standoff after several pin attempts and the fans show appreciation for the action. Delaney sends Freddie into the guard railing and follows up with a suicide dive! Freddie gets tossed in the ring and takes Delaney out with a suicide dive of his own. Delaney sends Freddie into the railing but misses a kick and gets chopped on the floor. Delaney hits a running boot against the railing only for Freddie to do the same moments later. Freddie dropkicks Delaney from the apron and nearly wins with a top rope cross body. Freddie hits a tilt a whirl back breaker and gets a two count. Delaney gets out of a tilt a whirl attempt and they trade some chops. Delaney hits a bicycle kick for a two count. Freddie stops Colin with a boot but runs into a spinning heel kick. Delaney has an arm submission on the mat but Freddie doesn’t give in. They get a little heated and trade forearm shots. They collide on clothesline attempts and both men are down. At the count of one they get up and both go down following clothesline attempts. Neither man will go down following yakuza kicks but Delaney does after trying to run the ropes. Delaney takes Freddie down and has a Crossface locked in. Freddie gets out of it and puts one on Delaney but doesn’t get a tap out. Freddie counters a forearm strike and nearly gets pinned with an inside cradle. Delaney lifts Freddie up and delivers a kick to the face for a two count.

Delaney misses a middle rope ace crusher and Freddie proceeds to hit several German suplexs. Colin counters one with a rollup for a near fall. Colin takes Freddie over with a few German suplexs of his own. Freddie decks Delaney with a clothesline and a brain buster but Delaney powers out at two on the cover. Freddie attempts a suplex but Delaney counters with a stunner. Delaney kicks Freddie from the apron and drops Freddie across the top turnbuckle. Delaney has Freddie draped across the top rope before delivering a knee to the head for a near win. They trade several pin attempts but Freddie counters a rollup in the counter and locks in the Sharpshooter to win the match by submission. (***1/4. A good match between these two who had become important pieces to 2CW in terms of guys who consistently put on good matches. A good win for Freddie in his hometown, and Delaney continued to be amazing since he became a singles act in the company.)

Eighth Contest: Jim Duggan, Jasper Whipple & Dick Justice vs. Bin Hamin, Pete Order & EMT: Duggan and Order kick off the match with Duggan hitting Order with some of the weakest looking clotheslines ever. Order and Justice go at it with Order working over Justice, but that was short-lived. Justice takes Order over with an arm drag and tags in Whipple. Order plants Whipple with a swinging side slam. Hamin slams Whipple across the back of Order for a near fall. Jasper gets the tag to Duggan, but the referee was distracted preventing that from being legal. Duggan tags in and cleans house with punches. The heels are sent into each other and Justice whirls around with Whipple to knock them down again. Justice leaps off the apron to hit a cross body on Hamin and EMT on the floor. Duggan takes care of Order with a running clothesline. Whipple gets on the top and hits a somersault dive to take everyone out. Duggan clotheslines Order again and wins the match. (*. It’s exactly what you’d expect it to be. It was quite boring and aside from Whipple, there wasn’t anything fast pace, but his couple of high spots didn’t make it worthwhile.)

Oddly enough, a lot of people left the venue at this point, but when they realized there was another match, some came back, but a surprising amount of people left after Duggan’s match.

Main Event: 2CW Heavyweight Champion Nick Ando vs. Sean Carr in a TLC match: Ando goes right to the ring and they begin to trade shots in the corner. They go to the floor where Carr sends Ando into the railing and they venture into the crowd. I don’t know what they are doing since they remain with the camera looking at the ring and not the camera on the floor. Carr is pummeling Ando with right hands and scoop slams the champ on the bleachers. Carr delivers a few kicks to knocks Ando down and the champ rolls down the bleachers. Carr whacks Ando over the back with a steel chair and tosses a chair into Ando’s face. Carr delivers a chair shot over the head of Ando. Carr tosses Ando into a group of chairs as they are battling in the front row, still haven’t switched camera shots, which they do as soon as I type that. Carr tosses Ando into the ring and a few chairs are tossed in as well. Carr spin kicks a chair into Ando’s face for a two count. Carr hits a standing moonsault but Ando powers out again at two. Carr leg drops the chair onto Ando’s face. Carr has gotten a ladder and slides into the ring with it. Carr rams the ladder into the midsection of the champion. Ando is kicked onto the ladder and Carr sets a chair up. Carr springboards off the chair and misses a somersault splash hitting the ladder back first. Ando has the chair and whacks Carr several times over the back with it.

Ando has control of the bout as he sets up a fe chairs and lays Carr across the chairs. Ando leaps off the top but misses a diving head butt hitting the chairs instead. Carr dropkicks the chair into Ando sending the champ into the corner. Carr drops Ando with several kicks but Ando tosses a chair at Carr to stop his momentum. Ando gets a table but changes his mind when the fans cheer for it. Carr staggers Ando with a kick and follows up with a chair shot. Carr sets a ladder up in the corner but is sent face first into it and Ando whacks Carr with a few chair shots over the head against the ladder. Carr stops Ando with a chair shot to the groin but Ando comes charging back with another chair shot. Ando goes to the floor and sets up several chairs on the floor. It is six chairs and then two chairs standing on those chairs. Ando attempts to suplex Carr from the ring onto the chairs but fails. Carr misses a super kick and gets kicked by Ando who hits a senton splash for a near fall. Ando sets a ladder up in the ring and gets super kicked onto the ladder. Carr misses a top rope swanton and lands on the ladder.

Carr is on the apron and kicks Ando followed by a backdrop that sends Ando over the top and onto the pyramid of chairs he had built moments prior! Carr goes under the ring and sets a table up in the ring. Carr hits a middle rope moonsault but only gets a two count. Carr connects with a chair assisted Codebreaker but Ando refuses to stay down on the cover. Ando blocks a super kick but not the second try. Carr drops Ando across his knee twice but Ando kicks out again at two. Carr hits a top rope big splash managing a near fall on the cover. Carr is punched against the table and Ando hits a spear but the table doesn’t break. Ando does it a second time and the table doesn’t break. So, on the third try, Ando manages to break the table but Carr still kicks out on the cover. Ando grabs another table and slides into the ring. Ando sets the ladder up and places Carr on the table. Carr stops Ando with a chair shot across the back. Carr kicks Ando onto the table and puts a chair over his body. Carr climbs the ladder and leaps off to put Ando through the table with a big splash! Carr grabs a second table. Carr kicks Ando onto the second table and climbs the ladder again. Ando gets up and whacks Carr over the back with a chair a few times. Ando power bombs Carr through the table and wins the match. (***1/4. It’s a good match with some good brawling and a couple of great spots, but it felt like it went on for a little too long. Nearly a half-hour was a bit overkill, especially with the outcome being Ando going over after several months of Carr chasing after the title. Still, have to give credit for these guys busting their tail and leaving the show on a good note when several had left after the Duggan match.)

Final Thoughts:
Attending the show live I was disappointed with it probably because of how bummed I was that Joe vs. Fox didn’t happen. So, quite sometime later watching it with a different mindset, it’s safe to say that it’s not an awful show. The tag match that replaced Joe/Fox was a fine match that showcased the right guys, Freddie/Delaney is a good match and the main event is fun, even if it went on a little too long for my liking. It’s an average show with three big matches keeping it from being a total failure, but they drew a great crowd likely for Joe and Duggan appearing, and many aspects were better than that, so it’s a successful show, i’d say.

Thanks for reading.