NEW Spring Slam 4/21/2018

Josh Briggs takes on Brian Milonas. “King” Brian Anthony squares off against Jake Manning. NEW Tag Team Champions Robbie E & Cam Zagami defend against former champions Adrenaline Rush. NEW Heavyweight Champion Flip Gordon looks to survive his biggest challenger yet, Wrecking Ball Legursky.

Northeast Wrestling presents Spring Slam
Date:4/21/2018
From: Bethany, CT

Kurt Adonis is pumping up the crowd to get the show going, but Ron Zombie is already attacking Hale Collins at ringside.

Opening Contest: Hale Collins vs. Ron Zombie: Zombie pummels Collins with strikes but Collins comes back with strikes of his own. Zombie spikes Collins with a DDT, but Hale’s valet gets involved in a spot that was horrible setup. She sprays something into Ron’s eyes to cause a quick disqualification. A female security guard comes in and spears the valet. Collins and his woman bail from the ring. (NR. Hardly a match, but a unique way to start the show that I haven’t seen in a long time.) After the match, Zombie says that this isn’t over since he has backup now. Looks like there will be a mixed tag match in June.

We see a promo by Jared, Legursky and Milonas promoting the upcoming match between Milonas and Josh Briggs. The group is being called the Trust Fund. Milonas says that Briggs is going to have a very bad day. They have waited two years to have Legursky get his hands on Flip Gordon for the NEW Heavyweight Championship. Legursky yells that Gordon has no idea what he’s gotten himself into.

Second Contest: Josh Briggs vs. Brian Milonas: Briggs runs through Milonas with a running big boot and forearms Milonas several times. Briggs nails Milonas with a running boot in the corner before putting Milonas on the top turnbuckle. Briggs has Milonas setup but Jared gets on the apron to distract Briggs. Milonas comes off the middle rope with a crossbody to drive Briggs down to the mat. Milonas keeps control of Briggs in the corner delivering a sit down splash a few times. Briggs tries for a back suplex but Milonas blocks it but doesn’t block a standing crossbody. Briggs plants Milonas with a spinebuster for a near fall. Briggs attempts a choke slam but Milonas avoids it. Milonas yanks Briggs down to the mat and delivers a back splash for a two count. Milonas sends Briggs back first into the corner and continues to choke him for a few moments. Milonas hooks Briggs for a superplex but gets knocked off. Briggs ends up getting splashed in the corner. Milonas hooks Briggs on the middle rope and hits a superplex for a two count. Milonas steps on Briggs before getting to the middle rope. Briggs comes back with a boot to stop Milonas but Milonas wiggles off and tries for a powerbomb. However, Briggs holds onto the ropes and blocks it before hitting a spinning headbutt. Briggs comes off the ropes with a standing moonsault for the win. (**. They kept a good pace and the match didn’t feel like it dragged on or anything. The action was mostly basic and nothing overly memorable. A decent undercard match and a good finish to get Briggs some momentum in NEW.)

Prior to the next match, Sam Adonis cuts a promo saying that the fans probably don’t know who he is. He proceeds to rip on the fans calling them white trash.

Third Contest: Chris Battle vs. Sam Adonis: Adonis hammers away on Battle with strikes but is soon sent over the top to the floor with a clothesline. Adonis strikes Battle from the apron and does a flip bump after a strike to the gut after coming off the ropes. Battle runs into a boot in the corner and Battle hits a middle rope blockbuster. Adonis hammers away on Battle with strikes and keeps control with a sleeper hold. Adonis keeps control of Battle with a chin lock. Battle fights back with a shoulder block but Adonis keeps him on the mat with a front face lock. Adonis slows down the mat with a lengthy chin lock. Battle tries to fight back but an elbow strike drops him and gets a two count for Adonis. Adonis continues to drive several knee strikes on Battle and keeps him on the mat for several moments. Battle catches Adonis with a powerslam to counter a leapfrog attempt. Adonis misses a clothesline and Battle connects with a forearm and a running knee strike for a near fall as Adonis gets his boot on the bottom rope. Battle ducks a clothesline and nails Adonis with a seated palm strike for a two count. Battle tries for a DDT but Adonis counters with an STO for a near fall. Adonis continues to deliver knee strikes and heads to the middle rope missing a swanton bomb. Battle connects with a spear and earns the three count. (*1/2. Similar to the previous match, there wasn’t much really going on here. The action slowed down for a few moments when Adonis had control. Battle winning is okay especially if they want to develop him in a singles role. Adonis has the potential to be a really good heel if he’s given time to get his act over in a company.)

Fourth Contest: Jawsolyn vs. Penelope Ford: So, Jawsolyn doesn’t have a shark mask or anything, but she’s really dedicated to the shark gimmick. It comes across like a female Shark Boy. She tries to get the fans to chant “shark attack”, and that’s just not happening. Early on, Jawsolyn controls Ford on the mat with a head scissors followed soon by a near fall with a backslide. Jawsolyn nearly wins with a standing spin kick and then begins to sing the Jaws theme song until Ford bails to the floor. Ford is on the apron and drops Jawsolyn over the top rope. Ford almost wins with a rollup. Ford delivers a kick in the corner and follows up with a shoulder ram to the midsection. Ford misses a handspring back elbow and Jawsolyn goes on the attack with strikes. Jawsolyn kicks Ford from the apron and tries for a rollup but Ford kneels down and chokes Jawsolyn. Ford gets a near fall after a savant kick. Jawsolyn ducks a clothesline and begins to her comeback with a clothesline of her own for a two count. Jawsolyn goes to the middle rope hitting a missile dropkick. Jawsolyn takes Ford over with a German suplex for a two count. Jawsolyn gets on Ford’s back and has a choke until Ford drives her back first into the corner. Ford delivers a handspring cutter, which they botched, and gets the three count. (*1/4. I can appreciate Jawsolyn’s attempt to get her shark gimmick over, but it didn’t connect with the fans. It’s rather obvious that Ford is the female to be pushed in NEW as her act resembles Tenille Dashwood. The action wasn’t very good and the botched finish didn’t have the match end on a positive note.)

Christian Casanova is introduced for an interview in the ring. Casanova puts himself over saying that he’s a top talent and thinks he deserves an applause, which he gets. This is all in reference to his match the previous night against Rey Fenix. He deserves the same respect that the fans give guys like Josh Briggs and Flip Gordon. Casanova gets cut off by Buddy Costa, who gets destroyed every time he appears. As soon as he enters the ring, Casanova decks him to the mat and then just walks over him. Well, Casanova goes back to the ring and hammers away on Buddy. Casanova continues to work over Buddy with strikes in the corner. Casanova hits a splash, a tilt a whirl head scissors and a scissors kick. Casanova says he’s a top talent and wants top talent opponents. He calls out NEW Heavyweight Champion Flip Gordon, but then walks out of the ring.

Fifth Contest: Brian Anthony vs. Jake Manning: This is considered to be one of the three main events. Anthony’s royal entourage is bailed from the arena. Manning decides against shaking Anthony’s hand after reading his book. Anthony does scouts honor to lure Manning in. Manning blocks a cheap shot attempt and decks Anthony with several right hands. Jake rams Anthony face first into the top turnbuckle and stomps away on Anthony in the corner. Manning decks Anthony with an elbow strike and then ties Anthony in the ropes, which Brian could easily get himself out of. Manning puts the crown on and plays to the crowd. Manning comes off the ropes and baseball slides Anthony to the floor. Manning continues to beat on Anthony with chops on the floor. Manning slams Anthony’s face onto the apron and rolls him back into the ring. Anthony gets control with several strikes of his own. Manning dumps Anthony to the floor and comes off the ropes looking for a suicide dive but is met with a kick from Anthony. Anthony tosses Manning shoulder first into the ring post.

Anthony stomps on Manning and plays to the crowd as he has control of the match. Anthony continues with a hammerlock scoop slam and beats on Manning with strikes. Manning nearly wins with a sunset flip and gets met with a clothesline from Anthony. Anthony keeps Manning on the mat with a sleeper hold for a few moments. Anthony hits a double springboard dropkick for another near fall. Anthony goes to another rest hold locking in a nerve hold. Manning fights back but Anthony plants him with a TKO. Anthony slowly goes to the corner and climbs to the top rope. Manning stops Anthony on the top rope and hooks Anthony for a superplex. Manning actually hits a top rope butterfly suplex and they are both laid out. Manning delivers a few clotheslines and boots Anthony in the corner. Manning comes off the top with a sloppy looking clothesline and ducks a wild strike. Manning hits a backbreaker and a flatliner for a two count. Anthony and Manning trade right hands in the middle of the ring. Anthony staggers Manning with a kick to the head. Manning sunset flips Anthony into the corner twice. Anthony rolls to the floor and Manning comes off the ropes missing a baseball slide. Manning runs down the ramp and sunset flips Anthony back first into the apron.

Manning goes to the top after rolling Anthony into the ring. Manning hits a top rope crossbody for a two count. The Graysons come down to ringside and pull the referee out. They might have missed their cue on that one. Manning fights them off on the floor before going to the top rope and taking them out again with his trust fall dive. Manning tosses them literally outside the arena. Wait a minute, a large man comes running down and takes Manning out with a crossbody on the floor. It’s actually Anthony Battle. Manning gets sent back into the ring and Anthony comes off the top to hit an elbow drop for the win. (**1/2. They got plenty of time and it was an enjoyable match. I’m not sure if it was worthy of a main event type of billed, but it was a fine match. Anthony Battle heel turn is an interesting turn of events. This likely really cements the idea of Chris Battle getting a push that we saw earlier in the show. I’ve been enjoying the Anthony character and he’ll likely be a main event act at some point.) After the match, Anthony reveals that Anthony will be addressed as a Lord moving forward. Jake Manning is in the ring and says he’s not done. The fans show their appreciation for him.

Sixth Contest: NEW Tag Team Champions Robbie E & Cam Zagami vs. Adrenaline Rush (Daniel Evans & Keith Youngblood): Robbie and Cam attack the challengers during their entrance. Evans gets sent shoulder first into the post and Youngblood gets sent into the ring steps. Robbie and Cam enter the ring and taunt Youngblood saying that he’ll never get the titles back. The champs drive Youngblood down to the mat with a double Rock Bottom. They go to the floor and rolls Evans into the ring to wrap his left leg around the ring post. Zagami puts a figure four leg lock around the post and Evans is screaming in agony. Several referees come down and try to pull Cam off. He does let go and the officials berate him for his actions. Robbie and Cam hold the titles in the air declaring there will not be a title match. Youngblood struggles to get to his feet as the champs are quite confident with their current situation. However, Youngblood still wants to fight and tells the referee to ring the bell.

Robbie keeps beating on Youngblood but Youngblood fights back with a flurry of strikes. Youngblood pummels Robbie with right hands and takes Cam down with a Thez Press. Robbie dumps Youngblood to the floor but he comes back with a double clothesline. Youngblood goes to the top rope and misses a flying crossbody. Robbie beats on Youngblood asking if he’s crazy. Cam enters and continues to beat on Youngblood. Zagami chokes Youngblood in the corner followed by several stomps. Robbie tags in and wants Keith to tag in his injured partner on the floor. Robbie mocks Youngblood saying he’ll tag in. Robbie shoulder rams Youngblood in the corner and Cam chokes Youngblood on the mat. Cam drops Youngblood with a knee strike to the gut. Robbie tags in and they take Youngblood over with a snap suplex. Robbie keeps control with a waist lock but Youngblood fights out of it with elbows. Youngblood dumps Robbie to the floor. Evans is limping down towards the ring but is being stopped by an official. Evans is on the apron and Youngblood is actually looking to tag out.

Evans gets the tag and clotheslines Zagami with a bad leg. Evans backdrops Zagami followed by a Samoan Drop. Robbie breaks up the cover and gets dumped to the floor by Youngblood. Evans has Zagami and plants him with a powerslam. Youngblood hits a swanton bomb off the top. Evans has the cover but Robbie pulls the referee out of the ring. Robbie is distracting the referee as Zagami has one of the tag titles. Zagami waits for Evans but Youngblood grabs the title and decks Zagami with it leading to a disqualification. Robbie and Cam retain the titles. (**1/4. Honestly, the story here is actually enjoyable. I mean, it makes Youngblood look like an idiot for tagging in Evans, who has an injured leg in the story. However, the finish of the challengers costing themselves the match after all that and the heels still outsmarting them is a good move. I was kind of expecting Youngblood to win the tag titles on his own, but the retaining of the tag titles makes more sense for the enjoyable duo.)

Seventh Contest: NEW Heavyweight Champion Flip Gordon vs. Wrecking Ball Legursky: This is the second of three main events. I’m surprised this isn’t the final main event. Gordon uses his speed early on to avoid the size of Legursky. Well, it worked a few times before Legursky backs him into the corner and chokes him. Gordon shoves Legursky away and attempts a leapfrog but gets caught in a bear hug. Gordon comes off the ropes and bounces off of Legursky. Legursky goes for the cover but can’t get a three count. Legursky chops Gordon in the corner and delivers an eye rake. Legursky splashes Gordon in the corner but is soon met with a boot. Gordon gets caught in the corner again and slammed down to the mat. Legursky keeps a cover but only gets a two count. Gordon kicks Legursky several times before getting dropped to the mat. Legursky sends Gordon over the top to the floor. Legursky continues to beat on Gordon with chops outside the ring but Gordon fights back with forearms. Legursky drops Gordon back first onto the apron before getting a two count back in the ring.

Legursky continues to pummel Gordon with strikes on the mat and then taunts the fans. Gordon kicks Legursky from the apron a few times. Gordon hits a springboard dropkick and starts to get fired up. Gordon dropkicks Legursky into the corner and kips up. Gordon delivers another running dropkick in the corner. Gordon springboards off the ropes to deliver a kick and heads to the top rope. Gordon leaps off but is caught by Legursky. Legursky goes for a press slam but Gordon breaks free to deliver a kick to the knee and a DDT. Gordon heads to the top rope and hits the 450 splash, but Legursky kicks out at one! Gordon attempts a springboard twisting crossbody, but Legursky plants him with a side slam for a two count. Legursky has Gordon on his shoulder however Gordon breaks free and sends Legursky into the referee in the corner. Legursky decks Gordon with a shoulder tackle that spins Gordon inside out. Jared has a steel chair and gets in the ring. Jared attempts to hit Gordon but whacks Legursky on accident. Gordon hits a springboard cutter and a superkick! Gordon heads to the top rope and hits a 450 splash for the win. (***. That was a fun match and a good showing by both men. The crowd was invested into the match for the first time on the show. The story was nicely told and if that doesn’t setup an eventual face turn for Legursky then I’ll be surprised. I can see a Milonas/Legursky feud in the coming months judging by this situation. A huge win for Gordon and I really thought Legursky would prevail.)

After the match, Legursky grabs Jared and is angry. The crowd is eating this up begging for Legursky to destroy Jared, but he lets go. Jared apologizes and takes full blame for the loss. Jared says he wanted to see Legursky win the title and brought the Trust Fund to NEW because Legursky was destined to be the biggest monster. He promises to make this right and knows that Wrecking Ball deserves a rematch. Jared wants Legursky to get another shot. Legursky tells Jared he better make this right. Flip Gordon comes back out and the crowd is suggesting he not give him a rematch. Gordon notes that the fans don’t want Legursky to get a rematch. It’s an overwhelming no from the crowd. Gordon has an idea that when they have a rematch. When Gordon wins the match he gets five minutes alone with Jared. That makes Jared nervous and Legursky grabs the microphone to scream in it. That sounds like a yes. So, that will be happening.

Outside the arena, Dexter Loux is looking for Mike Gamble and finds him mediating in the ring. Yes, this was taped earlier. Loux is pissed because he couldn’t find Gamble and says they need to get on the same page. Gamble says they are going to beat Izanely Rude because it’s just that easy. Loux doesn’t let him get back to his mediation.

Eighth Contest: Inzanely Rude (RJ Rude & Zane Bernardo ) vs. The Perfect Gamble (Dexter Loux & Mike Gamble): This feels like a filler match. Gamble shakes hands with both guys on the other team. Loux tags himself in and wants to hands but misses a cheap clothesline attempt. RJ tries for a monkey flip but settles for a springboard crossbody for a two count and Loux wants a timeout. Gamble misses a splash in the corner and is met with a kick from Zane. Gamble misses a double clothesline and crashes to the mat. RJ and Zane hit an assisted moonsault. Zane tries for a suicide dive but is caught by Gamble and is sent into the post back first. Loux drives RJ into the ring steps. Loux knocks Zane off the apron and drives RJ down with a vertical suplex for a two count. Loux blocks a springboard by yanking RJ down to the mat. Gamble enters and scoop slams RJ before tagging Loux back into the match. Loux delivers an elbow drop for a two count. Gamble prevents Rude from tagging in Zane catching him in a bear hug. Loux yanks Zane off the apron to prevent another tag. Rude ducks a clothesline from Gamble and here comes Zane off the tag.

Zane forearms Loux and Gamble in the corner before going to the apron. Zane plants Loux with a slingshot face buster. Loux comes up from behind and almost steals the match with a rollup on Zane. Loux gets sent into Gamble, who accidentally knocks Loux down with a forearm. Gamble gets dropkicked to the floor. Loux is left alone in the ring as RJ hits a Package Piledriver and Zane drops Loux onto RJ’s knees with a Death Valley Driver for the three count. (**1/4. I think Inzanely Rude has potential to be a fun face team in NEW. For a filler match, it wasn’t too bad and it continues the likely split between Loux and Gamble. Seems like Gamble will eventually play the sympathetic big man character.) After the match, Loux is pissed about losing money because of Gamble. Loux gets in Gamble’s face and Gamble pushes him away. Gamble gets slapped by Loux. Gamble knocks Loux down and screams at him. Well, that split happened quicker than I expected.

Main Event: JT Dunn vs. Brad Hollister: They shake hands to show mutual respect for each other. Hollister takes Dunn down to the mat early on and they focus on some mat wrestling. They then have a standoff and the fans show their appreciation for the action. After a brief test of strength, there’s another standoff. Dunn comes off the ropes but fails to knock Hollister off his feet. Dunn chops Hollister a few times with Hollister returning the chops. Dunn boots Hollister into a corner and handsprings out of the corner. Hollister uppercuts Dunn and delivers a back splash for a two count. Dunn bails to the floor and avoids a slingshot. Dunn kicks Hollister from the apron and leaps off only to be met with a forearm strike. Hollister headbutts Dunn onto the ramp and tells the fans to move out of the way. All the fans scatter leaving their chairs prone for violence. Hollister attempts a powerbomb but Dunn counters with a backdrop on the stage. Hollister rolls down the ramp to regroup. Dunn leaps down the runway and takes Hollister out with a clothesline. Dunn takes Hollister out with a Slice Bread on the floor! They are both laid out.

Dunn rolls into the ring first and then rolls back out. Dunn forearms Hollister but gets dropped onto the apron with a back suplex. Hollister goes to the top rope but is met with a slap from Dunn. Dunn sets Hollister up for a tombstone, but Hollister counters and drops Dunn face first to the mat. Hollister locks in a camel clutch in the middle of the ring. Dunn isn’t giving in to the pain. Dunn is able to send Hollister into the post shoulder first and hits a rolling cutter for a two count. Dunn goes to the top but is knocked off with an uppercut from Hollister. Hollister signals for the end. Hollister brings Dunn back into the ring with a superplex and almost wins the match. Hollister takes Dunn over with a series of German suplexs. Dunn counters with a rollup attempt and decks Hollister with an elbow strike. Dunn can’t believe he didn’t win the match. Dunn signals for an elbow, but Hollister delivers a powerbomb. Dunn delivers an elbow and tries for another elbow, but Hollister counters hitting a sit down powerbomb to earn the win. (**3/4. A fine main event and they kept my interest in a quick ten-minute match. I don’t think this needed to be the main event. The Gordon/Legursky match should have ended the event. It just made the most sense to me. The fans chanted “this is awesome” at one point, but for me, it was just a fairly average match. They tried to make the most of the main event spot, but it didn’t result in a main event quality bout.)

Final Thoughts:
The show the previous night was the stronger of the two. Gordon/Legursky was a fun match and had the most crowd investment out of anything else on the show. While the previous show had a stronger show and more name power, I wouldn’t say this was a bad show overall. It runs just over two hours and fifteen minutes. I’ll give it a mild recommendation because it was an easy viewing experience.

Thanks for reading.