USA Pro Meltdown II 6/19/2004

Written by: Bob Colling

USA Pro Wrestling presents Meltdown II
Date: 6/19/2004
From: New York, NY

Going into the event, Raven held the USA Pro Heavyweight Championship but was unable to compete on the show due to suffering a rib injury at the latest TNA weekly pay per view. He was promoted for a match against a mystery opponent. Apparently, USA Pro has done this before and the two surprises had been Little Guido and New Jack. The mystery opponent this time will face Justin Credible on the show.

Also, Teddy Hart was originally booked to compete in a match against Sabu. However, Teddy backed out of the match due to personal issues with Deranged having something to do with Deranged and Teddy having a fallout back when Deranged lived at the Hart family home. Sabu will now wrestle Homicide, who may not be able to compete due to having stitches on his hand.

Considering there are seventeen matches on the show I can’t possibly go in-detail for each one. Likely if the match involves locals/students then I’ll just provide the finish and thoughts. The main attractions will get my normal review style.

Opening Contest: USA Pro Xtreme Champion Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Grim Reefer: The DVD starts with action right off the bat as Reefer kicks Brown in the midsection as the bell sounds. Reefer gets met with a dropkick and Slyck takes him down with an arm drag. Slyck works over Reefer in the corner with a few chops. Reefer boots Slyck in the corner but Slyck hits a head scissors to send Reefer to the floor. Reefer pulls Brown off the apron and Brown hits the apron face first. Reefer slams Slyck face first onto the apron, as well. They trade a few strikes on the floor until Slyck is sent into the guard railing. Slyck backdrops Reefer into the front row and the same happens to Reefer’s manager. Slyck takes them both out with a moonsault off the apron into the front row of the crowd! Slyck gets a near fall on Reefer in the ring. Slyck goes over the top to the floor as Reefer’s buddy pulled the top rope down. Reefer comes off the apron with a frog splash to the floor. Reefer chops Brown in the corner and runs into a big boot. Reefer clotheslines Brown for another near fall. Slyck ends up going to the floor and grabbing the manager but that allows Reefer to attack and keep control of the match. Slyck works over Reefer with several chops in the corner for a two count. Reefer battles back with a few strikes and sends Slyck flipping in the corner. Slyck catches Reefer on a springboard to hit a swinging side slam for a near fall. Slyck continues with a swinging neck breaker but the referee gets distracted. Slyck knocks him off the apron but Reefer hits a middle rope side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Reefer comes off top hitting a swanton bomb for a near fall. Slyck nails Reefer with forearms but Reefer takes Slyck down with a tilt a whirl and locks in the Crossface! Slyck tries to roll to the ropes and manages to reach them with his foot. Slyck sends Reefer into the corner to crotch his manager on the top. Slyck finishes Reefer off with the Appreciation Bomb. (**1/2. There were a few decent spots in the match and felt like they worked a solid match to kick off the show going a god ten minutes. Slyck is really over with the crowd and the victory was probably the right call.)

Second Contest: USA Pro Women’s Champion April Hunter vs. Poppalicious: So, Poppalicious is a dude and I either forgot that or just never knew it. Slyck Wagner Brown and the manager for Poppalicious got involved with Slyck hitting a double clothesline. Hunter countered a power bomb attempt and won with a backslide. Hunter looked good in there. This went the same length as the opener and would have been better served being half the time.

Third Contest: All Money Is Legal vs. Burn & Envy vs. The Third Reich: I’m pretty sure that one of the guys part of the Third Reich with Skinhead Ivan is a young Luke Gallows. Ivan’s act is heavily racist and is calling people the n-word, which really makes me uncomfortable. That’s for sure Luke Gallows as his partner and is going by the name Dirk Vaulker. Burn and Envy are eliminated first. Ivan and Fulkner win the match following a front slam/leg drop on K-Murda to win the elimination match.

Fourth Contest: Mana vs. Malta The Damager: Mana looks significantly smaller compared to how big he’d get in just a year or so. Malta seems like a wannabe rock star who must be a diehard Triple H judging by the logo he has on his gear. Mana won the match with a double under hook piledriver.

Fifth Contest: Sabu vs. Homicide: They start off with a mat wrestling oriented offense with Homicide not being able to keep Sabu on the mat. Sabu does the same and Homicide gets to his feet. Sabu wants to shake hands but gets punched and they trade strikes. Sabu tosses Homicide to the floor and they brawl around ringside. Homicide sends Sabu hard into the guard railing. Sabu tosses a chair into Homicide face and rolls him into the ring for a two count. Sabu springboards off a chair to clothesline Homicide and himself over the top to the floor. Sabu baseball slides Homicide over the railing into the crowd. Sabu springboards off the top to take Homicide out with a cross body in the crowd! Homicide battles back sending Sabu chest first into the guard railing. Homicide knocks Sabu off the apron and hits a somersault suicide dive! Homicide tosses a few chairs into the ring with one chair getting stuck in the ropes. Sabu whacks Homicide with a chair shot. Sabu springboards off a chair to splash Homicide in the corner. Homicide trips Sabu to avoid a triple jump moonsault. Homicide taunts Sabu and the fans by doing Sabu’s taunt. Homicide hits an overhead suplex and acts like he is Taz. Homicide wedges a chair in the corner and sends Sabu head first into the chair. Homicide chokes Sabu over the middle rope to keep control of the contest. Homicide comes off the ropes to hit a clothesline for a near fall. Homicide misses a middle rope elbow drop and is nearly pinned. Sabu puts a camel clutch on in the middle of the ring but can’t get a submission. Sabu connects with a chair assisted leg drop for a two count. Sabu smashes Homicide over the head with another chair shot. Sabu tries to springboard off a chair but Homicide kicks the chair away. Homicide goes for a suplex off the middle rope but Sabu counters with a tornado DDT. Sabu hits a springboard moonsault for a near fall. Homicide spikes Sabu with a piledriver onto a chair for a two count. Sabu comes back with another chair shot. Sabu comes off the top hitting an Arabian face buster to Homicide’s back for the three count. (**1/2. A decent hardcore brawl but the fans didn’t seem to be overly into the action for whatever reason. It wasn’t a crazy hardcore match or anything and they added some good high spots.) After the match, they shake hands showing mutual respect.

Sixth Contest: The Masked Maniac vs. Dr. Zero: Apparently, this match is happening because Dr. Zero gave Maniac bad medicine and caused him to have massive diarrhea. Maniac wins the match after a stunner. Nobody cared.

Seventh Contest: Eddie Guapo & Steve Mack vs. The Solution (Havok & Papadon): The Solution won this match after a power bomb/top rope blockbuster on Guapo. That was a cool finisher.

Eighth Contest: Shark Boy vs. Billy Reil: Shark Boys wins this match following the Dead Sea Drop out of the corner. It’s a flip stunner off the middle rope.

Ninth Contest: Low Ryda vs. Boogalou: These guys seem to be obsessed with various kicks and moves of that nature. Ryda hit a top rope head scissors but was tossed to the canvas on a bulldog attempt. Boogalou wins the match with a suplex dropping Ryda on his head.

Tenth Contest: Louie Ramos vs. The New Dynamite Kid vs. Travis Blackchurch vs. Johnny Bravado vs. Frankie Starz in a hardcore match: They literally have a large tarp of some kind on the canvas for this match since they are going to be bleeding a lot and using alot of different weapons. It’s an elimination match and I honestly only know Louie Ramos out of everyone. Ramos uses a staple gun on the wrestlers a few times. Well, Ramos wins the match and that leads to a match with New Jack.

Eleventh Contest: Louie Ramos vs. New Jack: Jack comes into the ring and clotheslines Ramos a few times controlling the match with several strikes with a spike of some kind. Ramos is busted wide open by this point. Jack is choking Ramos with a chain in the corner and he’s also busted wide open. This is just nonsensical hardcore brawling as you might expect. Ramos misses a leg drop late in the match. Jack comes off the top to deliver a chair shot and wins the match.

Twelfth Contest: The Kazuski vs. Quiet Storm: Storm is one of the guys during this era that I just don’t enjoy watching at all. Late in the match, Kazuski sprays Storm with mist and delivered a kick to the head for the win. Kazuski felt like a knock off Tajiri.

Thirteenth Contest: Mikey Whipwreck & Wayne vs. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz (EC Negro & KC Blade) vs. The SAT: Scoundrels hit a Death Valley Driver/DDT off the middle rope for a near fall late into the match. Mikey Whipwreck got hit with a stunner from someone and that allowed them to get a victory. This went nearly twenty minutes and I wasn’t going to sit through it, honestly.

Fourteenth Contest: USA Pro United States Champion Mike Tobin vs. Chris Candido: Candido starts the match taking Tobin down to the canvas but not following up with the advantage. Tobin takes Candido down but Candido counters to get control for a moment. Tobin comes off the ropes with a shoulder block but Candido comes back with a botched looking cross body. That’s because Candido was going for a head scissors and does it on the second attempt. Tobin hits a standing hurricanrana and they have a standoff. Tobin nearly rolls Candido up and they have another standoff but shake hands. Candido takes Tobin down with a snap suplex. Candido continues with a delayed vertical suplex. Candido comes off the middle rope with a leg drop for a two count. Candido continues with a dropkick and plays to the crowd. Candido comes off the top looking for a dropkick but Tobin catches him and catapults Candido to the floor. Tobin keeps control with basic offense and a rollup for a two count. Candido decks Tobin with a right hand and chop. Candido takes Tobin over with a few German suplexs. Tobin counters with a DDT for a two count. Candido runs into a big boot and Tobin hits a tornado DDT out of the corner for a near fall. Tobin goes to the top but Candido cuts him off with a right hand. Candido sets up Tobin and hit a superplex. Sunny is at ringside and gives Candido his Bodydonnas outfit, which Candido puts on. Candido goes to the top hitting a diving headbutt. Tobin nearly steals a win with a rollup but is soon kicked to the canvas. Tobin plus down Candido’s trunks on a sunset flip and Candido goes to the top only to be slammed off with his butt still exposed. They collide heads and drop to the canvas. Sunny has come back out and gives Candido more gear. Candido is wearing Taz gear and hit an overhead suplex. Tobin sends Candido hard into the corner for a two count. Tobin hits a neck breaker as Candido stumbles out of the corner for another near fall. Tobin decides to get in on the ring gear change and puts a Macho Man shirt on. Tobin leaps off the top missing an elbow drop. Candido hits a vertical suplex turned into a stunner for the win and title. (*1/2. I didn’t find the ring gear change stuff to be all that funny and Tobin isn’t a very good worker. Candido is still capable of having some decent matches but needed a better opponent for this to be worthwhile.)

Fifteenth Contest: Deranged vs. Amazing Red vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal in an elimination match: They all start the match with hammerlocks and headlocks switching between each other in a unique way to start the match. Red and Dutt hit hurricanranas for a near fall. Lethal and Deranged come back with rollups for a two count. Deranged whacks Dutt and makes it look like Lethal did it and they brawl. Deranged and Red try for dives to the floor but are met with kicks from Lethal and Dutt on the floor. Dutt is sent into the railing by Deranged while Lethal and Red brawled on the other side of the ring. Lethal hits a suicide dive onto Red and Dutt on the floor. Deranged springboards off the ropes to hit a moonsault on the floor to take everyone out. Dutt takes everyone out with a somersault dive to the floor. Dutt gets on the microphone to say that “Teddy Hart sucks” and there’s a chant from the crowd briefly repeating it. Red and Dutt send Lethal back first into the guard railing. Red and Dutt work over Deranged on the floor sending him into the wall. Deranged goes to the top and is kicked off by Dutt. Red goes for a neck breaker on Lethal but Lethal countered with one of his own. Dutt proceeds to hit a Muscle Buster on Deranged and lands on both Lethal and Red. Dutt turns himself, Deranged and Red inside out with a clothesline. Lethal comes back in to put a figure four on Deranged and a cross face on Red along with an arm bar on Dutt. Deranged nails Lethal with a high knee in the corner and a clothesline on Dutt in the opposite corner. Deranged tosses Dutt into the corner with an overhead toss and gets a near fall as Dutt landed on Lethal in the corner. Red holds Deranged for a delayed vertical suplex driving him down to the canvas. Red hit a running clothesline on Dutt for a two count. Lethal hits a triple full nelson suplex to take out all three of his opponents! The fans really liked that. Lethal plants Dutt with a double under hook face buster for the first elimination.

Deranged counters a power slam attempt to hit a tornado DDT on Lethal for a two count. Deranged low blows Lethal instead of a neck breaker and hit a reverse hurricanrana for the second elimination of the match.

That leaves us with Red and Deranged as the final two. Red kicks Deranged across the back several times followed by a sleeper hold. Deranged doesn’t let his arm fall down three times and battles to his feet. Red runs into a boot in the corner and Deranged nearly wins with a hurricanrana. Deranged knocks some guys off the apron and is met with a spine buster from Red that got a near fall. Red spikes Deranged with a piledriver but can’t put him away. Deranged low blows Red and hits a Canadian Destroyer rollup for a two count. Deranged gets a sharpshooter on Red but isn’t going to get a submission. Red plants Deranged with a Death Valley Driver. Red hits a Red Press and wins the match. (***. There were a few good spots, but this isn’t a crazy great match or anything like I had read online. Lethal seemed to be the guy the fans were most interested in and of course he gets pinned as soon as he gets some momentum. This might have come across better if there hadn’t been fourteen other matches) After the match, they seemed to show some respect, but Red’s buddies attacked Deranged and he didn’t seem to care much.

Sixteenth Contest: Balls Mahoney vs. Justin Credible: Mahoney is the big surprise for the match and didn’t really get a massive pop or anything. Mahoney wants to shake hands but Credible instead spits in his face. Credible gets a microphone and demands the fans show him respect, but they continue to call him an asshole. Mahoney lays down on the canvas but avoids an elbow drop and Credible bails to the floor. It looks like several people have left the building at this point compared to earlier in the evening. Mahoney takes Credible down to the canvas by his arm and stomps on his hand. Credible rolls to the floor and complains some more. Mahoney hip tosses Credible followed by an arm drag to keep control of Credible on the canvas. Mahoney press slams Credible gut first to the canvas and follows up with a series of jabs in the corner. Mahoney hammers away on Credible in the corner. Mahoney is nearly sent into the referee but stops himself before getting nailed with a superkick! Credible rams Mahoney face first onto an exposed turnbuckle and stomps away on Balls. Credible shoves the referee and takes a bump for him. Mahoney comes back with several jabs in the corner but misses a splash hitting the corner chest first. Credible has grabbed a steel chair and hits a drop toe hold sending Balls face first onto the chair for a two count. Credible tosses Mahoney to the floor where Balls hits the railing back first. Credible rams Balls face first onto a steel chair. Credible traps Mahoney’s neck in the chair and slams it down to the ground to smash his throat.

Back in the ring, Credible gets a two count and focuses his attack on the neck/throat area. Mahoney sends Credible into the corner and Credible slides groin first into the ring post. Mahoney misses a running cross body and falls to the floor. Credible misses a baseball slide attempt and is rammed into the guard railing chest first. Mahoney brings the action back into the ring where he has a cheese grater. Credible blocks a shot with it and nails Mahoney with it. Of course, that has caused Mahoney to bleed. Credible rams Mahoney face first onto the canvas. Mahoney kicks Credible in the corner and hits him with the chest grater a few times. Credible is busted open now, too. I lied, it wasn’t a cheese grater but some kind of sharp metal object to dig into his forehead. Mahoney catapults Credible chest first into the corner and whacks Credible over the head for a two count. Mahoney thinks he won the match but hasn’t. Credible throws powder and hits the referee with it. Mahoney plants Credible with the Nutcracker Suite. However, the referee is blinded in the corner. Mahoney helps the referee with some water but Credible low blows him. Credible hits the That’s Incredible but Mahoney still kicks out even with a new referee entering the ring. Mahoney stops Credible with a back suplex and the referee decides to screw him over acting slow on the count and complaining of shoulder pain. The original referee wants a piece of the corrupt referee and takes him out with a stunner. Credible gets up in the corner and nails Mahoney with a super kick for a two count. Credible grabs a chair and hits him over the head but Balls doesn’t sell it. Mahoney ducks a shot and hits the Nutcracker Suite on the chair for the win. (*1/4. Quite honestly, they went with several different screw job routes that it just made the match far more clustered then it needed to be. The fans weren’t sold on the match and these guys just couldn’t win them over.)

Main Event: Al Snow vs. D’Lo Brown for the vacant USA Pro Heavyweight Championship: Well, this might go close to a half-hour. It’s not that I even hate either one of these guys, but this has gotten to the point where I wish it would just be over and thirty minutes if just a lot of time for a wrestling match between two guys that have zero history for a title they probably don’t care all that much about. They lockup but neither guy gets control until Snow shoulder blocks Brown. The action is pretty slow to start off. Brown shoulder blocks Snow as the start is really even. The fans are chanting for Sunday Night Heat. Brown takes Snow down to the canvas but can’t get a three count on the cover. Snow stomps on D’Lo’s arm but doesn’t followup on it. Brown takes Snow down to the canvas and focuses his offense on the left knee of Show. They are really taking their time with providing any kind of substantial offense. Snow sends Brown shoulder first into the corner and drives Brown down to the mat with a shoulder breaker for a two count. Brown comes back with a power slam but Snow kicks out quickly. Snow kicks Brown on the side of the head to knock him down. Snow arm drags Brown and keeps Brown on the mat for a few moments. They trade a few slaps and forearm shots. Snow kicks Brown and they trade forearm shots. Brown counters a kick by applying an ankle lock. Brown lets go and delivers a few shots on Snow in the corner. Snow connects with a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Brown connects with a heel kick but gets backdropped over the top to the floor. Brown lands on the floor and is selling his left knee. The fans aren’t buying it as Snow goes to the floor to check on D’Lo. Several officials come out to help D’Lo and Snow helps Brown to the backstage area. Fans start to applaud him and decides to plant Snow with a DDT on the concrete floor! Brown goes for the cover but Snow kicks out at two.

Brown clotheslines Snow for a two count. D’Lo focuses his attack on the left knee with stomps. D’Lo locks in the figure four right in the middle of the ring. Snow turns it over on Brown but the hold doesn’t last very long. Snow fights back with strikes but D’Lo stops him with a right hand to the face. Brown goes to send Snow into the ropes but he drops down to the canvas. Snow knocks Brown down with a shoulder block but his knee is preventing him from getting up. Snow elbows strikes D’Lo but Brown cuts him off with a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Brown hammers away on Snow but Show chokes him. Snow ducks a clothesline and a kick. Snow misses another kick and Brown goes back to the ankle lock submission. Snow is able to counter with an ankle lock of his own. Brown kicks Snow away and dropkicks the right knee before hitting a shining wizard for a two count. Snow counters an Irish whip and controls the left arm of Brown briefly. Brown plants Snow with a reverse DDT for a two count. Snow gets up and spikes Brown with the Snow Plow! Snow has the cover but D’Lo kicks out at two. Snow goes back to controlling the left arm of Brown. Snow backdrops Brown out of the corner and hit a springboard moonsault off the bottom rope. Snow hits a middle rope moonsault but D’Lo refuses to stay down. Snow heads to the top rope and nails Brown with a top rope moonsault for a two count. Snow hits a sit out spine buster but Brown comes back with one of his own. Both men are laid out on the canvas. Snow gets up first and signals for a super kick out of the corner and hits it! Snow has the cover but Brown kicks out. Snow sets up for the pedigree and drives Brown to the canvas for a two count. Snow bulldogs Brown out of the corner and does the WORM minus the WORM part for a near fall. Brown plant sSnow with a choke slam for a two count.

Snow hammers away on Brown but D’Lo is getting a second wind and acts like Hogan with right hands. Brown delivers a big boot and plays to the crowd. Brown comes off the ropes to hit a leg drop but Snow kicks out at one. Brown decides to go for the People’s Elbow and hits it for a two count. Snow gets out of a slam and hits the Stunner. Snow starts to take off his boot and grabs his sock. Yeah, Snow is gonna go for the Socko spot. Brown blocks the sock from getting into his mouth and tosses Snow into the referee in the corner. Snow ends up getting Head and decks Brown with it. Snow has the cover and wins the match. (*1/2. I was kind of hoping that after the fake injury spot/DDT on the floor that the match would an intense battle, but they instead went with a goofy use other peoples finishers for cheap pop routines. I’d say this was a disappointing match, but I wasn’t exactly expecting a classic match.) After the match, they embrace.

Final Thoughts:
This was a five hour show and I can tell you that I didn’t watch it in one sitting. There’s nothing on here that overly memorable. The booking of the matches felt repetitive and took away from each other. I can’t give it a thumbs up with so many matches and not enough quality action. There may be enough “star power” to keep you interested, though. I just got burnt out by the end.

Thanks for reading.