2CW MayDay 5/16/2014

Written by: Bob Colling

Squared Circle Wrestling presents MayDay
Date: 5/16/2014
From: Amsterdam, NY

Kevin Steen opens the show cutting off the ring announcer saying that nobody cares about what he had to say. Steen taunts the fans in the crowd before mentioning he was a former 2CW Heavyweight Champion. Steen wants his title match right now.

Opening Contest: 2CW Heavyweight Champion Nick Ando vs. Kevin Steen: Steen splashes Ando in the corner followed by a cannonball splash. Ando goes to the floor where Steen chops the champ and wears Ando’s hat while chopping the champ some more. Ando fights back on the floor with a few chops but Steen puts a stop to that. They return to the ring where Ando gets a few shots in on Steen but runs into a forearm shot from Steen. Steen asks if the fans want to see a body slam, but Ando counters but a second try is successful for Steen. Steen goes to the top rope with Ando on the canvas and attempts a swanton but Ando gets his knees up. Steen avoids Ando in the corner but doesn’t avoid a big boot that nearly gives the champ a three on the cover. Steen hits a Samoan Drop but Ando just barely gets his shoulder up. Steen attempts the package piledriver but Ando gets out of it and is kicked away. Ando drives Steen down with a sit out power bomb for a near fall. Steen counters a suplex off the top with a twisting fisherman suplex off the middle rope but Ando gets out at two. Steen attempts the package piledriver but Ando gets out of it and low blows Steen. Ando has a rollup and get the cheap win. (**. It was decent, but the finish was lame. I’m not entirely sure if Ando even has a true finishing move. The crowd doesn’t seem all that hyped for this show thus far, I noticed.)

Second Contest: Brute Van Slyke vs. Jay Freddie: Brute tosses Freddie at the start using his size advantage. Freddie chops Brute a few times but isn’t able to drop the big man. Freddie dropkicks Brute but is just ran over. Brute tosses Freddie to the floor and follows to keep the advantage Freddie baseball slides Brute off the apron to the floor but is caught leaping off the apron. Brute press slams Freddie onto the apron causing Jay to land chest first on the apron. Brute slams Freddie followed by an elbow drop for a near fall. Brute hammers away on Freddie in the corner before tossing Jay across the ring. Freddie stops Brute with a jaw breaker but runs into a knee lift. Brute continues his offense with a running senton for another near fall. Brute splashes Jay in the corner but Freddie fights back with an uppercut and a running boot. Brute stops Freddie with a sit out spine buster choke bomb for a near fall. Freddie kicks Brute on the apron and hits a springboard forearm. Freddie takes Brute out with a suicide dive three times to drop Brute on the floor. Freddie goes to the top but is caught with a kick to the left knee. Freddie sends Brute chest first into the ropes and uses the momentum to take Brute over with a German suplex. Brute blocks a kick and attempts a choke slam but Freddie counters with the Crossface! Brute gets out of it with an Angle Slam of sorts. Brute runs into an uppercut in the corner. Freddie hits the Diamond Dust out of the corner and a leaping Codebreaker off the middle rope. Brute staggers from all of this and Freddie hit a top rope cross body. Freddie dives off the top to hit a head butt for the win. (***. This crowd is driving me nuts. This was a solid match but the fans were virtually silent for most of it. I liked how Brute was presented here and it’s a good victory for Freddie.)

Third Contest: 2CW Tag Team Champion Rob Cook & Kage vs. Steve McKenzie & Loca Vida: A fairly short match, which isn’t surprising considering the teams involved. Kage pinned Vida following a choke slam. After the match, Rob Cook cut a promo saying they are the best tag team in New York. Actually, they are the best tag team in the world. He knows there isn’t anyone in the back that can beat them. Jason Axe comes out and he has an evil smirk as he enters the ring. Axe notes that he beat two teams all by himself in Syracuse. Axe wants a title shot right now whether it’s himself or finding someone. Sean Carr comes in from behind and super kicks Kage and Cook. However, Carr isn’t his partner. Instead, it’s Kevin Steen!

Fourth Contest: 2CW Tag Team Champions Rob Cook & Kage vs. Kevin Steen & Jason Axe: Steen hits the package piledriver on Cook and Axe pins Cook for the title change.

Fifth Contest: Kevin Graham vs. Cheech: Graham had a wrist lock on Cheech to start the match but Cheech quickly went to the ropes to break the hold. Cheech returns to the ring and works over Graham with basic strikes before locking in a chin lock. Graham eventually counters with one of his own. Graham takes Cheech over with a series of arm drags and a dropkick causing Cheech to bail to the floor. Cheech returns and works over Graham again with strikes in the corner. Graham chops Cheech a few times but runs into a big boot in the corner. Cheech takes Kevin over with a power slam for a near fall. Cheech goes to the apron and hits a slingshot senton for a two count. Graham stops Cheech with a jaw breaker and a Side Effect for a near fall. Cheech traps Graham’s legs in the ropes and drops the floor without doing anything and then drops Graham throat first across the top causing Graham to fall down essentially torquing the knee in the process. Cheech focuses his offense on the left knee of Graham. Kevin uses his free leg to kick Cheech to the floor. Cheech again drops Graham throat first across the top and heads to the top rope. Cheech misses a double stomp and Graham hits a Flatliner for a two count. Graham clotheslines Cheech a few times but isn’t able to get a three count. Graham hits a shining wizard for a two count. Graham plants Cheech with a sit out spine buster for another near fall. Cheech plants Graham with a power bomb out of the corner. Graham locks in a cobra clutch but Cheech gets out and drops Kevin face first across his knee for the win. (**1/4. I’m not kidding when I say the fans didn’t have any reaction to the finish, pure silence. The action was okay, but it’s a match I didn’t have any interest in seeing previously nor do I in the future between these two.)

Sixth Contest: Sean Carr vs. Dalton Castle: Dalton backs Carr into a corner but is slapped moments later. Carr slaps Castle and is met with a throat thrust causing them to run around ringside for a moment. Carr hammers away on Castle with right hands and chops in the corner. Carr chops Castle to the floor where Dalton stalls for a little while. Castle hammers away on Carr against the ropes and drives his knee into the back of Carr. Carr monkey flips Castle out of the corner and kicks Castle off the apron. Castle spears Carr from one apron to the other apron in the corner, which is something I’ve never seen before. Castle scoop slams Carr on the floor and they return to the ring. Carr baseball slides Castle into the guard railing and takes Dalton out with a somersault dive off the apron. Carr hits a standing moonsault for a two count. Castle drops Carr throat first across the top rope and stomps away on Carr. Castle drops Carr gut first across the top rope. Castle big boots Carr into the corner and delivers a double stomp as well. Carr comes out of the corner with a chop but gets dropped across the top rope again. Castle controls Carr on the canvas with a body scissors. Castle catches Carr leaping off the middle rope and locks in a bear hug. Carr drops Castle with a spinning kick to drop Dalton. Carr clotheslines Castle several times followed by a kick. Carr continues with a series of snap suplexs. Carr hits a rolling fireman’s carry and a middle rope moonsault but Castle kicks out on the cover. Castle knee lifts Carr a few times but runs into a super kick. Carr gets distracted by Kage on the apron. Rob Cook is there as well and that allows Castle to hit a big boot followed by the delayed German suplex for the win. (***. I would have gone bigger for this, but the cheap distraction finish blew for me. Credit to Carr for keeping the crowd vocal throughout the match for the first match. It’s an enjoyable match with two of the better 2CW workers. I just would’ve liked straight up match and not the cheap ending.)

Seventh Contest: Pete D. Order & EMT vs. Dick Justice & Jasper Whipple: Roughly five minutes of action concludes with Whipple pinning EMT largely due to Justice doing the work for the team.

Eighth Contest: 2CW Tag Team Champion Jason Axe vs. Chris Sabin: Axe kicks Sabin in the midsection to start the match and backs Sabin into the corner to chop the former TNA star. Axe wants to shake hands and Sabin jokingly asks if he should shake hands. Sabin wipes his butt and shoves his hand into Axe’s face. Sabin keeps control of the match working over the arm of Axe on the canvas. Sabin kicks Axe while on the apron and gets a two count back in the ring. Sabin dropkicks a seated Axe for a two count. Sabin dumps Axe to the floor where Jason stalls for a little while. Sabin continues to work over Axe in the corner hitting a clothesline. Sabin misses a clothesline and Axe plants Sabin with a spine buster for a near fall. Axe stomps on Sabin and delivers a knee drop. Axe takes Sabin over with a snap suplex and taunts the fans while choking Sabin with his foot on the canvas. Axe puts a sleeper hold on Sabin but that doesn’t last long. Axe hits an overhead suplex for a two count. Axe catapults Sabin throat first into the bottom rope. Axe scoop slams Sabin and heads to the middle rope but Sabin avoids the move and avoids a few elbow drops. Sabin dropkicks a seated Axe after rolling through a sunset flip. Sabin boots Axe in the corner hitting a few clotheslines. Sabin drops Axe with a dropkick and a strike in the corner. Sabin plants Axe with a DDT but can’t get a three count on the cover. Sabin hammers away on Axe with punches and a kick in the gut. Sabin plants Axe with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Axe stops Sabin hitting a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. Sabin counters a fisherman buster with an inside cradle for a near fall. Axe hits a double knee gut buster but Sabin kicks out on the cover. Sabin kicks Axe and hits a modified Cradle Shock to win the match. (**1/2. A decent match with the predictable outcome between the two. Nothing overly exciting but the action was solid enough to hold my interest.)

Main Event: Chris Hero vs. Colin Delaney: They shake hands showing respect for each other at the start of the match. Hero takes Delaney down to the canvas controlling him with a front face lock until Colin counters with a hammerlock. Hero gets control of Delaney wrenching on his left foot. Delaney breaks free of the hold and Hero goes to the apron to stall for a moment. Delaney goes behind Hero and gets a near fall with a rollup. Hero counters Delaney by getting a leg lock to control Delaney on the canvas. Delaney and Hero trade arm drags with Colin getting control of Hero. Delaney takes Hero down to the canvas with an arm bar. Delaney rolls off of Hero’s back and is met with a knee strike and a standing senton splash. Hero chops Delaney and trade shots with Colin several more times. Delaney knocks Hero off the apron and hits a suicide dive. On the floor, Delaney chops Hero around ringside to keep control. They trade chops on the floor. Delaney jabs Hero several times in the ring but is met with a knee strike. Hero nails Delaney with a bicycle kick in the corner. Hero slams Delaney and goes for a standing senton but Delaney got his knees up. Hero drills Delaney with a right right hand and gets a near fall. Hero puts Delaney on the top rope and delivers another bicycle kick.

Hero sets Delaney up for a superplex but Colin fights Hero off and they use a beam above the ring causing Hero to crash to the canvas. Delaney climbs the fixture and leaps off but is met with a big boot in midair but kicks out on the cover. Colin essentially no sells it after kicking out and gets up in the corner. Delaney lifts Hero up and delivers a kick to the face causing both men to go down. Delaney sidesteps a big boot and clotheslines Hero a few times. Hero hits a twisting vertical suplex for a near fall. Hero nails Delaney with a twisting yakuza kick but Colin refuses to stay down. Hero forearms Delaney but Colin almost wins with a backslide. Hero tries to keep Delaney on the canvas but Colin shows off his leg strength powering out. Delaney hits a Codebreaker and leaps off the middle rope to hit an ace crusher for another near fall. Hero drills Delaney to the floor with a discus forearm shot. Hero delivers another discus forearm but Delaney goes for a surprise inside cradle for a near fall. Hero hits another forearm in the corner and another one to the back of Colin’s head but only manages a two count. Delaney fights back with chops but is met with a bicycle kick. Delaney forearms Hero a few more times. Delaney springboards off the middle rope but is met with a strike. Hero knee strikes Delaney and hits a forearm shot on Delaney for the win. (***1/2. Yeah, that’s the match of the night and really entertaining and the crowd showed their appreciation for one of the few times they were vocal. I didn’t know if the styles would click, but this was a really good match.)

Final Thoughts:
First of all, the fans in attendance didn’t add to the show and might have hurt it with their inability to be vocal for anything. Carr/Castle, Freddie/Brute and Hero/Delaney all delivered quality matches. It is also cool that Steen is a champion in 2CW so he’ll be on a few more shows, which is always cool with me. It comes in at just under two hours on DVD. It felt like an average show and the main event is on YouTube, so check that out and call it a day.

Thanks for reading.