Written by: Bob Colling
Pro Pain Pro Wrestling presents The Future Is Now
Date: 4/17/2004
From: Philadelphia, PA
Tod Gordon and Jasmine St. Claire come out and prevent a hat giveaway. Gordon is pissed about someone taking his property, but the microphone is not good so I don’t know. Gordon is mad about Striker taking his woman, Talia. They storm off from the ring.
Opening Contest: Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Ricky Vega: Brown backs Vega into the corner and shoves him. Brown slaps Vega after getting shoved back but goes to the ropes to prevent any offense. Brown shoulder blocks Vega and is met with an arm drag. Vega slaps Brown followed by a chop. Vega keeps control of Brown with an arm drag and controls the left arm. Vega wrenches on Brown’s arm for a few moments. Vega avoids a chop in the corner and chops Brown several times. Brown avoids an arm drag and Vega drops to the mat. Brown chops Vega in the corner before taking Vega over with a snap suplex for a two count. Brown boot scrapes Vega but Vega battles back with chops. Brown chokes Vega over the middle rope for a few moments. April Hunter leg drops Vega over the middle rope. Brown continues his offense with a slingshot leg drop to the apron. Brown keeps Vega on the mat with a sleeper hold for a few moments. Vega breaks free and goes for a backslide, which gets a two count. Brown stops Vega with a dropkick for a two count. Brown works over Vega with a scoop slam. Brown goes to the top rope but misses a moonsault. Vega chops Brown several times and plants Brown with a spine buster for a near fall. Vega decides to head to the top rope. April Hunter distracts Vega tripping him off the top to the canvas face first. Brown goes for the cover but Vega kicks out at two. Brown elbows Vega in the corner and catches Vega on a cross body attempt. Brown drops Vega with a sloppy swinging side slam, which Vega messed up. Brown properly hits the swinging side slam for the win. (*1/4. Slyck carried the match as best he could with a green Ricky Vega. There wasn’t anything in this that was overly exciting or anything, though.)
Second Contest: Gary Wolfe vs. Ron Zombie: Wolfe shoves Zombie down at the start as they went for a lockup. Zombie eye rakes Wolfe and works over Wolfe in the corner ramming him face first into the corner. Zombie hits a neck breaker out of the corner. Wolfe tosses Zombie over the top to the floor. Wolfe baseball slides Zombie into the guard railing and grabs a chair to smash Zombie in the face a few times. Wolfe kicks Zombie out of a chair. Wolfe sends Zombie back first into the guard railing. Wolfe tosses a chair into Zombie’s face again before returning to the ring. Wolfe hammers away on Zombie in the corner and delivers a big splash. Wolfe takes Zombie over with a release northern lights suplex for a two count. Wolfe drives Zombie down to the mat with a vertical suplex for a two count. Wolfe delivers a strike to the midsection and nails Zombie with a big boot to the face. Wolfe scoop slams Zombie and heads to the top rope. Wolfe gets met with a low blow and Zombie tosses Wolfe to the canvas. Zombie attempts a DDT but Wolfe counters with a Death Valley Driver for the win. (*1/2. It was a little sloppy, but it was rather competitive and I enjoyed it. Wolfe was obviously going to go over here.)
Third Contest: CJ O’Doyle vs. N8 Mattson: Mattson starts off taking O’Doyle down to the mat and they trade some mat wrestling holds. O’Doyle gets a hammerlock but that doesn’t last too long. Mattson arm drags O’Doyle out of the corner and O’Doyle rolls to the floor. Mattson baseball slides O’Doyle to the floor and hits a cross body to the outside! Mattson continues to work over O’Doyle with an uppercut and chop. Mattson gets a cover in the ring for a two count. O’Doyle counters a hip toss with a hurricanrana. O’Doyle backdrops Mattson over the top to the floor and O’Doyle takes Mattson out with a somersault dive! O’Doyle goes for the cover but Mattson kicks out at two. O’Doyle takes Mattson over with a snap suplex several times. Mattson fights back with a sit out spine buster for a near fall. Mattson runs into a big boot in the corner but drops O’Doyle with an STO for a near fall. O’Doyle delivers a reverse stunner of sorts to stagger Mattson. O’Doyle hammers away on Mattson with right hands. CJ backdrops Mattson and a scoop slam. O’Doyle heads to the top rope but Mattson hits an overhead belly to belly suplex off the top rope! Mattson goes for the cover but CJ kicks out. Mattson heads to the top and misses a leg drop. O’Doyle decks Mattson with a lariat. O’Doyle signals for the leg drop off the top and hits it for the win. (***. Surprisingly, this was an enjoyable match and it flew by for me. The crowd popped for the action and it’s easily the best thing on the show thus far. This could possibly be the best match on the show, oddly.)
Fourth Contest: Mike Kruel vs. Monsta Mack: Kruel ducks a clothesline and hammers away on Mack. Kruel chop blocks the leg of Mack and wraps his leg around the ring post. Kruel splashes down across the leg leg to keep Mack on the mat. Kruel slams the leg down over the apron. Mack chops Kruel but misses a clothesline and is met with a chop block again. Kruel focuses his attack on the left leg. Kruel goes to the top rope and is caught in midair where Mack plants Kruel with a power slam. Mack drives Kruel down with a vertical suplex for a two count. Mack puts a camel clutch on Kruel. Kruel stops Mack from splashing down onto him by getting his knees up. Mack takes Kruel over with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Mack comes off the middle rope missing a diving headbutt attempt. Kruel delivers a few forearm strikes and a dropkick to knock Mack down. Kruel hits a missile dropkick off the top. Kruel hits an elbow drop and a moonsault for a two count. Mack ducks a clothesline and delivers a back of the head breaker and a clothesline for a two count. Mack has Kruel over his shoulder but Kruel counters with an inside cradle for the win. (*. Kruel is a talented wrestler, but wasn’t really setup here to look very successful. Kruel should be working with guys that are good workers.) After the match, Mack proves his a sore loser by laying out Kruel with a dominator. Mack also hits Kruel with a plastic trash bin. Mack goes to the top rope and slips off, which is hilarious.
Fifth Contest: Ruckus vs. Damian Adams: Adams attacks Ruckus during his entrance but Ruckus hammers away on him sending him back first into the guard railing. Ruckus sends Adams into the wooden pillar that holds the building up. Ruckus connects with a handspring moonsault on the floor. They get into the ring and Adams backs off in the corner but boots Ruckus in the midsection. Ruckus sends Adams into the corner and Adams flips over the turnbuckle to the floor. Adams is walking away from the match trying to recover. Ruckus follows him and sends him into the entrance display. Adams boots Ruckus in the corner and heads to the top rope but Ruckus slams Adams to the mat. Ruckus rakes the back of Adams and connects with a handspring spinning kick for a two count. Ruckus spin kicks Adams for another near fall. Adams holds onto the ropes and bails to the floor. Adams runs away again but Ruckus chases after him. They get back into the ring but Adams rolls out and smashes Ruckus with a steel chair. Adams taunts the fans while Ruckus struggles to get to his feet. Ruckus has been busted open from the chair shot. Ruckus nails Adams with a moonsault dropkick for a two count. Adams plants Ruckus with a DDT to counter a backdrop attempt for a near fall. Adams keeps Ruckus on the mat with a sleeper hold. Adams keeps control with strikes.
Adams sends Ruckus into the ropes and locks in a sleeper hold to drop Ruckus down to the mat. Ruckus elbows his way out of the hold and drives Adams down with a back suplex. Ruckus punches Adams several times followed by a backdrop and dropkick. Ruckus hip tosses Adams for a two count. Ruckus drags Adams to the corner and goes to the top rope but Adams gets to his feet and shoves the referee into the ropes causing Ruckus to fall to the floor. Ruckus nails Adams over the head with a steel chair. Ruckus puts the chair over the body of Adams and comes off the apron hitting a shooting star press on the floor! Ruckus rolls Adams back into the ring and has a chair with him. Adams nails Ruckus with a super kick for a two count. Adams scoop slams Ruckus and puts a chair over his body. Adams puts two chairs over the body of Ruckus, but Ruckus whacks Adams over the back with a chair. Adams drops down in a tree of woe. Ruckus puts the chair in front of Adams face and hits a somersault dropkick into Adams face for the win. (***. Well, that was a solid encounter, too. Ruckus is usually hit or miss and this time around he delivered in the ring. Adams was fine in his role, too. This felt like a match to get Ruckus over.)
Sixth Contest: Jack Victory & Rockin’ Rebel vs. Amish Roadkill & The Blue Meanie: I’m really not interested in torturing myself through this tag team match. I’m finding that Blue Meanie, the promoter for the company, often times puts himself in the longest match and tries to get himself over as much as possible. 3PW Heavyweight Champion Raven comes out before the match to cut a promo and calls Roadkill fat. Again, the microphone is connected to the sound system with the camera so it’s difficult to know what is exactly being said. This month, the match goes about five minutes, which is a miracle. Late in the match, Roadkill cleans house on Victory and Rebel hitting a splash in the corner. Meanie gets tagged back in and continues to attack his opponents. However, Meanie turns around and Roadkill turns on Meanie hitting a TKO. That allows Victory to cover Meanie for the win. So, now we’ll get a program between Meanie and Roadkill.
Matt Striker is dressed as Randy Savage and does a great impersonation. His manager, Talia, is playing the role of Elizabeth. Striker’s gimmick of impersonating wrestlers is probably the most over act in 3PW. Rob Eckos, Striker’s former partner, comes out and has had enough of this act.
Seventh Contest: Rob Eckos vs. Matt Striker: Eckos goes on the attack before the bell with right hands to Striker in the corner. Striker gets a second wind quickly and plants Eckos with a power slam. Striker acts like JYD knocking Eckos down with a few headbutts. Striker scoop slams Eckos and signals for the Earthquake splash, which he hits. Eckos gets up to knee lift Striker in the corner. Eckos chokes Striker in the corner for a few moments and sends Striker back first into the corner. Eckos is met with a drop toe hold into the corner. Striker delivers a running football tackle. Striker turns around after acting like Duggan and is nailed with a super kick. Striker flips in the corner like Flair but gets slammed off the top by Eckos. Striker low blows Eckos as the referee was out of position. Striker chops Eckos in the corner several times. Eckos comes back with a chop of his own and accidentally chops the referee. The referee decides to chop Eckos several times in the corner and they do the Flair strut. Eckos kicks Striker after missing a clothesline. Eckos is arguing with the referee and Striker plants Eckos with a choke slam. Striker tries to get fire out of the ring post and wonders why the fire doesn’t come out. Eckos clotheslines himself and Striker over the top to the floor, which looked like Striker didn’t want to do. Striker goes to the top and leaps off to hit a double axe handle. Jasmine St. Claire and Gorgeous George come out to confront Striker. Of course, I can’t hear what the hell she’s talking about. Apparently, it’s because Striker took Talia out of their group. This leads to a brawl between Talia and St. Claire. Tod Gordon whacks Striker over the back with a steel chair. Talia is held in the ring and Gordon appears to go for a forced sexual assault. Striker makes the save with a steel chair. Striker challenges Gordon and St. Claire to a mixed tag match. Gordon accepts the challenge. Slyck Wagner Brown and April Hunter attack Striker and Talia from behind. They proceed to hit power bombs to leave them laying in the ring. (*1/2. The match between Striker and Eckos was going rather well, but the nonsense with Gordon wasn’t entertaining at all. The idea of a forced sexual assault as an angle in 2004 just makes no sense and in 2017 watching it, it’s just awful.)
Eighth Contest: Jerry Lynn vs. Sabu: The fans love Sabu chanting his name for a few moments as the bell sounds. Sabu goes for a rollup but Lynn kicks out at two. Sabu hammers away on Lynn with strikes. Lynn snap mares Sabu and controls him with a head scissors on the mat. Sabu gets out of the head scissors and they focus on some mat wrestling early on. They trade arm drags and have a standoff. Sabu works over Lynn in the corner with right hands but misses a clothesline. Lynn springboards off the middle rope to dropkick Sabu to the floor. Lynn sends Sabu into the ring post face first. Sabu slams Lynn face first onto the apron. Sabu grabs a table and sets it up on the floor. Sabu lays Lynn onto the table and brings a chair into the ring. Sabu goes for a triple jump but stops himself as he sees Lynn get off the table. Sabu baseball slides Lynn into the crowd. Sabu delivers a chair shot and takes Lynn out with a triple jump dive into the crowd! Lynn backdrops Sabu over the railing back to the ringside area. Lynn nails Sabu with a chair shot. Lynn rolls Sabu back into the ring and is met with a chair shot. Sabu leaps off the chair and splashes Lynn in the corner for a two count. Lynn dropkicks a chair into the knees of Sabu causing Sabu to roll to the floor. Lynn delivers a rolling neck snap and a dropkick to the face for a two count. Lynn goes to the top rope but Sabu cuts him off with right hands. Sabu takes Lynn off the top with a hurricanrana and a heel kick for a two count. Sabu sits Lynn on the top turnbuckle but Lynn plants Sabu with a tornado DDT managing a near fall.
Lynn goes for the cradle piledriver but Sabu breaks free only for Lynn to hit a TKO for a near fall. Sabu backdrops Lynn to the apron where Lynn leg drops Sabu over the middle rope and they go to the floor again. Sabu rams Lynn into the guard railing and slides a table into the ring. Lynn drops Sabu chest first across the guard railing. Sabu brings a chair into the ring as Lynn sets up a table in the corner. Lynn misses a wild chair shot and Sabu kicks the chair into Lynn’s face for a two count. Sabu sets the table up in the corner and works over Lynn with several strikes in the corner. Lynn drop toe holds Sabu face first into the steel chair. Lynn leaps off the chair and is met with a clothesline in midair. Lynn’s lower back landed on the chair, which had to hurt. Sabu goes for the cover but Lynn kicks out. Sabu puts the camel clutch on Lynn but isn’t getting a submission. Sabu attempts a power bomb but Lynn plants Sabu with the Kryptonite Crunch for a two count. Lynn puts Sabu on the table and goes to the middle rope, but Sabu is able to stop him again. Lynn attempts a tornado DDT but Sabu counters by clotheslining Lynn over the top to the floor. Lynn drops Sabu throat first over the top rope. Lynn heads to the top rope and is stopped by Sabu. Sabu tosses Lynn over the table and onto the canvas. Sabu walks over the table and leg drops Lynn for a near fall. Sabu hits Lynn with a chair shot to counter a trip attempt. Sabu rams Lynn face first onto the table. Sabu puts Lynn on the table once again. Sabu does a triple jump but misses and crashes through the table. Lynn plants Sabu with the cradle piledriver for the win. (**1/2. It was a decent match between these two who just did their normal routine. It lasted almost fifteen minutes and it didn’t feel like it overstayed its welcome. I was majorly surprised to see Lynn go over clean.)
Main Event: 3PW Heavyweight Champion Raven vs. Joey Matthews: Raven shoulder blocks Matthews at the start and treats the challenger like he’s not that big of a deal. Raven takes Matthews down to the mat and slaps the back of his head. Raven hip tosses Matthews and backs away to pose for the fans showing off his muscles. Joey decides to step out to the floor to regroup. Joey grabs a microphone and says that Raven can’t avoid wrestling him despite his political power. Raven punches Matthews in the corner causing Joey to roll to the floor again. Raven poses for a photo and Matthews attacks the champ sending him to the floor. Raven hammers away on Joey on the floor and sends Matthews into the guard railing. Raven slams Joey face first onto the apron a few times. Raven scratches the back of Matthews several times before delivering a kick to the chest. Raven rams Joey face first into the ring steps and poses for a picture with a kid in the front row. Raven delivers a side Russian leg sweep into the railing. Raven goes under the ring to grab a table and rams Joey back first into the ring post. Raven lays Matthews onto the table. Raven goes to the middle rope and leaps off looking for an elbow drop but misses. Raven doesn’t crash through the table since he didn’t jump far enough. Matthews is laid over the table again and Raven slams Joey’s head against the table. Raven deicides to go for the elbow drop a second time and this time manages to put Matthews through the table with an elbow drop. Raven gets the microphone and I literally have no ides what he’s saying. It sounded like he was just yelling.
Raven goes for a cover back in the ring but only manages a couple of near falls. Raven sends Joey chest first into the corner but misses a clothesline. Joey takes advantage with a super kick and Raven bails to the floor. Matthews works over Raven on the floor with strikes and rakes the eyes of Raven a few times. Matthews jumps down onto the left knee of Raven and focuses his attack on the knee. Matthews drives down into Raven’s knee with a knee breaker. Matthews controls Raven with a standing figure four and stomps on the champ. Matthews gets the microphone and taunts Raven while beating on the champ. Matthews knee drops Raven and gets a two count. Matthews goes for a figure four and locks in the hold right in the middle of the ring. Raven is able to roll over and Matthews reaches the ropes to break the hold. Matthews splashes the knee of Raven before going back to work on the left leg. Raven counters with a cross arm breaker looking for a submission but Matthews won’t give in. Matthews drives Raven down with a neck breaker for a two count.
Joey goes to the floor and grabs a table to slide into the ring. Raven counters an Irish whip and plants Matthews with a DDT but can’t make the cover and is holding his knee in agony. Matthews actually manages to get back to his feet rather quickly. Raven jabs Matthews followed by a discus clothesline and a clothesline out of the corner. Raven knee lifts Matthews and gets the crowd behind him. Raven splashes Matthews in the corner and bulldogs Joey through the table in the corner. Raven goes for the cover but Matthews kicks out at two. Raven sets a chair up looking for a drop toe hold but Matthews blocks it and smashes the chair into Raven’s face. Matthews tosses powder into Raven’s face! Raven accidentally super kicks Jack Victory and the referee. Matthews plants Raven with the Virginia Necktie neck breaker but there isn’t a referee. Matthews tries to wake up the referee but Raven gets up and plants Matthews with a DDT for a near fall. Raven drop toe holds Matthews face first into a steel chair for a two count. Raven works over Matthews in the corner with right hands. Matthews sets the chair up in the corner and collapses when Raven tries to send him across the ring. Joey sends Raven head first into the chair in the corner. Matthews hits another Virginia Necktie neck breaker for the win right in the middle of the ring. Matthews is the new champion. (**. It was a decent brawl and there was some overbooking towards the end for whatever reason. By the sound of it, nobody in the crowd wanted to see Matthews win the title as there was a noticeable groan. Personally, I think he’s a great heel and should make for better main event matches with other talents more suitable for his style. This would be Raven’s final 3PW appearance.)
Final Thoughts:
There were a few solid matches on this show and the bad stuff wasn’t overly long or anything. I think this was one of the better 3PW shows. I’m excited to see the Matthews reign since I know there were several good matches against top level talent coming up. A mild thumbs up.
Thanks for reading.