2CW Live Or Let Die 8/22/2010

Written by: Bob Colling

Squared Circle Wrestling presents Live Or Let Die
Date: 8/22/2010
From: Watertown, NY

Opening Contest: Isys Ephex vs. Cheech: Cheech attacks Ephex before the bell and delivers a strike off the apron to the floor. Cheech sends Ephex into the railing back first. Cheech fakes the fans out before sending Ephex back into the ring and maintains control of the match. Ephex delivers a kick in the corner and another one from the apron. Ephex leaps off the top to deliver a forearm strike. Cheech goes to the floor and Ephex hits a slingshot crossbody. Ephex gets a two count in the ring. Cheech delivers a backbreaker and a neckbreaker for a two count. Ephex nearly steals the match with a rollup, but Cheech recovers to deliver a snap suplex. Cheech chokes Ephex with a bandana and removes a second one to continue the choke. Cheech goes into his tights to grab a third one and chokes Ephex some more. They run the ropes with Ephex missing a few strikes, but runs over Cheech with a clothesline for a two count. Cheech drives Ephex down to the mat gut first for a near fall. Ephex puts a surfboard on Cheech, but that doesn’t last too long.

Cheech quickly stops Ephex with a clothesline. Cheech tries for a cover, but Ephex kicks out. Ephex misses a dropkick as Cheech held onto the ropes. Cheech puts a sharpshooter on Ephex, but Ephex reaches the ropes quickly. Ephex storms out of the corner with a clothesline and a head scissors. Ephex splashes Cheech followed by uppercuts. Ephex shoulder blocks Cheech but is met with a dropkick. Cheech sits Ephex on the top turnbuckle. Ephex shoves Cheech off the middle rope and leaps off the top to hit a knee drop for a two count. They counter over the shoulder moves until Cheech tosses Ephex with a suplex. Ephex comes back with the same one. Ephex spikes Cheech down to the mat with a Jay Driller, but Cheech reaches the ropes to break the count. Cheech slides a chair into the ring and grabs Ephex’s Grand Prix trophy. The referee doesn’t see Cheech hit Ephex with it and Cheech wins the match! (**1/2. A decent opening match, though the crowd doesn’t appear to be all that lively. I thought they worked a fun match and I was thrilled that Cheech went over.)

Second Contest: Tony Kozina vs. Pepper Parks: Early on, they counter each other and Kozina spits on Parks before bailing to the floor. Kozina returns to the ring and eye rakes Parks followed by strikes and shoulder rams in the corner. Parks tosses Kozina out of the corner followed by a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Parks misses a running attack and hits the middle turnbuckle face first. Kozina dropkicks a seated Parks for a near fall. Kozina keeps Parks on the mat with a chin lock. Kozina holds onto the ropes to avoid a dropkick attempt by Parks. Parks backdrops Kozina to avoid a piledriver attempt. Parks drops Kozina with a kick to the side of Tony’s head. Parks clotheslines Kozina several times. Parks backdrops Kozina for a two count. Kozina comes off the ropes and Parks nearly wins with a snap powerslam. Parks gets crotched on the top by Kozina. Parks shoves Kozina off the middle rope and leaps off the top to hit a neckbreaker for the win. (*1/2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Parks get such a strong reaction from the crowd. The fans were cheering for him the entire time and came across like he’s super over. They didn’t really do much to keep my interest, however. Parks has a good finishing move off the top.)

Third Contest: 2CW Tag Team Champions American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards) vs. The Olsen Twins (Colin & Jimmy Olsen): Colin and Richards start the match with Colin slapping Richards in the corner. Colin delivers another slap and is promptly met with a kick to the midsection. Edwards tags into the match and Colin is met with a double elbow strike. Jimmy chokes Edwards from the apron and enters the match to stomp on Edwards a few times. Edwards fights back with a chop out of the corner. Wolves take over Jimmy with a snap suplex. Richards kicks Jimmy in the chest and keeps control in the corner. Edwards misses a standing dropkick as Jimmy held onto the ropes. Colin tags in and gets slammed by Edwards followed by a running kick. Richards returns to the match and headbutts Colin in the corner before locking in an Indian death lock. Colin reaches the bottom rope to break the submission hold. Richards kicks Colin in the midsection and catapults Colin to a forearm from Edwards. Edwards comes off the top to knee drop Colin over Richards knees for a two count. Jimmy gets tagged in and beats on Edwards with strikes, but Edwards boots Jimmy to the mat followed by a scoop slam.

Richards puts a modified cloverleaf on Jimmy while Edwards knocks Colin off the apron. Edwards adds some extra leverage on Jimmy, but they can’t get a submission. Edwards takes Jimmy down with a vertical suplex on the floor. Colin tries to come over and help, but Richards sends him into the railing and is met with a boot. Edwards does the same to Jimmy and the fans are enjoying this beating. Colin works over Richards in the corner with strikes. Richards fights out of the corner with forearm strikes. Richards kicks Jimmy from the apron on the floor and Colin runs into a boot from Edwards for a two count. Edwards boots Jimmy off the apron and kicks Colin over the back. Wolves yank on Colin’s legs leading to a near fall. Richards and Colin trade strikes until Richards hits a handspring kick for a two count. Edwards is stopped by Colin hitting a knee strike and Jimmy gets tagged in. Jimmy takes his wrist tape off and chokes Edwards for a few moments.

Jimmy keeps Edwards on the mat with a sleeper hold. Edwards takes Jimmy over with a standing hurricanrana. Colin keeps Edwards on the mat with several stomps on the mat. Jimmy returns to the match and puts a headlock on. Edwards stops Jimmy with a jawbreaker and a Pele kick, but Colin tags in and delivers a few senton splashes. Colin heel kicks Edwards coming out of the corner for a near fall. Colin decks Richards off the apron and goes to the top rope. Edwards kicks Colin on the top rope. Jimmy saves Colin by striking Edwards, but Eddie delivers a kick to Colin. Edwards hits a top rope superplex. Richards hits a missile dropkick on the challengers. Richards forearms Colin followed by a snap suplex. Richards hits a top rope diving headbutt, but Colin kicks out at two. Richards muscles Colin over with a bridging German suplex for a near fall. Richards powerbombs Colin and locks in a cloverleaf. Jimmy tags in after Colin reached the ropes. Jimmy hits a reverse powerbomb, which looked nuts. Edwards enters and is doubled teamed with Jimmy hitting a hurricanrana on a kneeling Edwards.

Richards works over the challengers with kicks and knocks Jimmy down. Colin is lifted into the air and met with a kick on the way down. Edwards superkicks Colin followed by Richards hitting a German suplex for a two count. Colin is on Eddie’s shoulders, but Richards is shoved off the top to the floor hitting the railing. Jimmy decks Edwards with a tag championship on the apron and that allows Colin to pin Edwards for the title to switch hands! (***1/2. They got plenty of time and delivered one hell of a tag team match. I don’t mind the heels cheating to win as its the best option to get the belts off the Wolves in a realistic fashion. They had a great match at LOTE and followed up with another one here. Olsen Twins as tag champs should make for some enjoyable matches in the future.)

Fourth Contest: Steve McKenzie vs. Kevin Graham vs. Mike Van Slyke: Van Slyke punches Graham in the corner and gets out of a rollup by McKenzie to deliver a clothesline. McKenzie nails Van Slyke with a twisting elbow strike. Graham hammers away on McKenzie and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Van Slyke clotheslines Graham and hits a knee drop for a two count. Graham knee strike Van Slyke and McKenzie decks Graham for a two count. McKenzie continues with a vertical suplex on Graham. Graham splashes McKenzie in the corner and falls to the floor, acting like he meant to do that. Van Slyke clotheslines Graham to gain control followed by several kicks and chops. Graham drops Van Slyke with a kick to the head. Graham heads to the top rope, but Van Slyke stops him. Van Slyke hits a superplex and McKenzie hits a top rope splash for a two count on Graham. Van Slyke tosses McKenzie with a suplex. McKenzie takes Van Slyke over with a hurricanrana to avoid a powerbomb. Graham decks McKenzie off the apron and puts a chicken wing on Van Slyke. Springate throws in a towel to end the match. Van Slyke looks confused as to why that happened. (*. Needless to say, that was boring.)

Kevin Graham cuts a promo about Springate being mad at them for their interference last month when they tossed a towel into the ring to save Springate from an injury. Graham says Springate did that out of spite. Graham issues a challenge Springate to a teacher vs. student match. Springate notes if it wasn’t for him they’d be on their couch playing RAW vs. Smackdown video game. Springate says he needs to pick an opponent for Van Slyke for September 24th so that he doesn’t have to worry about him. Van Slyke agrees to that stipulation. Springate has already picked the opponent for Van Slyke and it’s RAVEN. Van Slyke has a surprised look, but also seems to be genuinely happy.

Fifth Contest: Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Loca Vida: Brown taunts Vida by dropping to his knees, but Vida moves his hips before arm dragging Brown. Vida leaps off the top to arm drag Brown and continues with a few forearm shots. Brown counters a hurricanrana, but Vida is able to send Brown over the top to the floor. Vida leaps off the top to take Brown out with a crossbody. Brown stomps on Vida to keep control of the match followed by a chop. Brown counters a wheelbarrow attempt by driving Vida face first down to the mat. Brown plants Vida with a tilt a whirl front slam. Brown chokes Vida over the bottom rope. Vida drops Brown with a standing dropkick. Brown forearms Vida in the corner followed by a running bulldog. Brown leaps off the top to hit a missile dropkick. Vida almost wins with a rollup, but Brown quickly comes back with a clothesline. Brown slows the match down with a headlock and chops in the corner. Brown sends Vida across the ring and Vida falls to the mat. Vida fights back with a wheelbarrow bulldog for a near fall.

Vida hits a slam for a near fall. Vida head scissors Brown over the middle rope and tries for the 315, but Brown catches Vida. Brown tries for a swinging slam, but Vida counters with a rollup for a near fall. Brown connects with a jumping leg lariat for a two count. Brown tries for the Appreciation Bomb, but Vida gets out of it. Brown catches Vida on a springboard to hit a swinging side slam for a tow count. Brown tries for a vertical suplex, but Vida fights out of it and head scissors Brown over the middle rope. Vida hits the 315 and goes to the top rope. Vida hits a crossbody, but Brown rolls through and nearly wins the match. Vida avoids a kick and rolls Brown up for the victory. After the match, Brown attacks Vida by stomping him. Brown also hits the Appreciation Bomb to leave Vida laying. (*1/2. There wasn’t anything wrong with the match, but it was just a boring one. Vida winning is okay, but Slyck seems to be someone that should be getting a bigger push. Brown has been losing often since turning heel. The Appreciation Bomb may be one of my favorite finishers in 2CW as it just looks deadly.)

Sixth Contest: 2CW Heavyweight Champion Jason Axe vs. Brodie Lee in a first blood match: Lee boots Axe in the corner followed by right hands and a clothesline. Lee pummels Axe with more right hands. Axe backdrops Lee to the floor and hits a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Axe sends Lee into the guard railing chest first. Lee sends Axe into the railing ribs first a few times. Lee uses an umbrella on Axe hitting him over the back. Lee continues with a chop against the railing. Lee tosses a trash can at Axe, but misses him. So, Lee grabs the trash can again and whacks Axe over the head. They brawl into the crowd where Lee slams Axe onto the bleachers. Lee brings Axe up the bleachers and tosses the champ down the bleachers. Axe low blows Lee and drops Lee with a Death Valley Driver onto two chairs. Axe whacks Lee over the back with a steel chair, too. Axe drops Lee with a chair shot to the head and jabs Lee a few times on the ribs. Axe forearms Lee followed by a chair shot over the back.

Axe sends Lee shoulder first into the ring post. Axe wraps a chair around Lee’s head and sends Brodie into the post. Axe jabs Lee with a chair in the ring and delivers a chair shot over the back. Axe whacks the chair onto the mat and tries for a chair shot, but Lee counters by hitting Axe in the face with something. Axe has been busted open but avoids a boot in the corner and the referee goes down. Axe beats on Lee with several chair shots to the back. Axe grabs a container of something, which appears to be red paint. Axe wakes up the referee and shows Lee has been busted wide open. The referee calls for the bell and Axe retains the title. Is this really going to end that way?

Matthew Price, the 2CW Commissioner, comes out and tells Axe that it was a brilliant plan, but it’s not going to fly around here. Price switches the match to a falls count anywhere match. Price also says if Axe gets disqualified that Lee would win the title. Lee powerbombs Axe, but can’t get a three count. Lee nails Axe with a running big boot but again only gets a two count. Lee goes outside the ring to grab a table. Axe has Lee on the apron but is met with a slap by Lee. Brodie hits a package piledriver off the apron through the table! Lee covers Axe on the floor and wins the title! (**1/2. One of the biggest moments in 2CW history to this point. Fans had been cheering Brodie since he invaded with NWA Upstate and a near two year journey to the 2CW Heavyweight Champions concludes here. The match is a decent brawl, but the moment is far bigger than the match. Jason Axe has been presented as a strong heel and the work to make Axe a top level heel can’t be ignored. Average match, but a great moment.)

Seventh Contest: Jake Roberts vs. Zaquary Springate III: Springate starts the match acting as if he’s scared of Roberts. Roberts drops Springate to the mat after lifting him up by his arm. Springate avoids a DDT attempt by rolling to the floor. Springate tells the referee that he wants the snake out of the ringside area, but that’s not going to happen. Roberts knee lifts Springate to the mat and the fans are chanting for the DDT. Springate goes to the floor again to regroup. Springate goes to the bag with the snake, but Roberts comes over to stop that. Springate attacks as Roberts went to get the snake. Roberts absorbs a few strikes before atomic dropping Springate, but misses a knee lift attempt. Springate comes off the top but Van Slyke comes out and holds Springate’s boot on the apron to allow Roberts to win with a DDT. (DUD. That was just an awful match.) After the match, Roberts puts the snake on Springate. Roberts gets a microphone and encourages the fans to keep supporting 2CW. Roberts talks about his father passing away and wanted to prove he could do it. Roberts misses his father and announces that he’s retiring. Roberts notes it is due to his health and thanks the fans for tonight.

Main Event: Jay Freddie vs. Bryan Danielson: Danielson arm drags Freddie at the start of the match and they have a standoff. Freddie gets arm control for a few moments. Danielson breaks free to hit a standing dropkick. Danielson goes to the ropes to break a hold and they shake hands. Freddie keeps Danielson on the mat for a few moments. Danielson monkey flips Freddie and they have another standoff. Freddie has a head scissors on Danielson for a moment, but Danielson counters and has a modified STF on Freddie. Freddie arm drags Danielson a few times followed by a standing dropkick. Danielson forearms Freddie and sends Freddie to the floor. Danielson sends Freddie into the railing followed by a suplex on the floor. Freddie is sent rib first into the railing and dropped throat first over the railing. Danielson continues to work over Freddie’s left arm and takes Freddie down to the mat. Freddie reaches the ropes quickly to break the hold. Danielson kicks Freddie over the back a few times. Freddie forearms Danielson several times and comes off the ropes only to be met with a forearm strike.

Danielson hooks Freddie, but can’t hit a suplex. Danielson is able to take Freddie down to the mat and keeps arm control. Danielson stomps on Freddie’s left elbow. They begin to trade forearms and uppercuts. Danielson tries for a suplex, but Freddie counters with a reverse DDT. Freddie knee lifts Danielson followed by a dropkick to a seated Danielson. Freddie nearly wins with a fisherman suplex for a two count. Freddie dumps Danielson to the floor and takes Danielson out with a suicide dive. Freddie goes to the top rope hitting a missile dropkick. Freddie tries for the Sharpshooter, but Danielson is moving around and reaches the ropes. They trade a few rollup attempts. They collide on stereo crossbody attempts. They trade several strikes with Freddie getting control. Danielson stops Freddie with a jawbreaker and a running knee strike for a two count. Danielson locks in a Crossface in the middle of the ring. Freddie is able to reach the ropes to break the submission.

Danielson goes to the top rope but Freddie is able to counter with a Sharpshooter attempt. Danielson counters with a rollup for a two count. Freddie spikes Danielson with a tombstone and comes off the top trying for a diving headbutt. However, Danelson got his foot up to block it. Danielson puts a head scissors on Freddie and Freddie refuses to stay down. Freddie locks in the Sharpshooter and Danielson is pulled to the middle of the ring. Danielson is in agony, and about to tap but is able to reach the bottom rope. Freddie puts Danielson on the top turnbuckle looking for a superplex. Danielson counters and crotches Freddie before putting Freddie in a tree of woe. Danielson kicks Freddie before hitting a running dropkick. Danielson puts Freddie on the top turnbuckle and hits a top rope back suplex for a two count. Danielson quickly switches to Cattle Mutilation but Freddie fights out of it. They trade a few strikes until Danielson nearly wins with a double under hook bridging suplex. Danielson nails Freddie with several elbow strikes and the referee stops the match to give the match to Danielson. (***. The match started off rather slow, but it picked up and became a good match. I thought the finish was a little flat as the best time to end the match felt like with the Cattle Mutilation instead of the elbow strikes. Danielson is an absolute star and made Freddie look like he was capable of beating him a few times.) After the match, Danielson puts over Freddie and the fans chant for the local boy. Danielson shakes Freddie’s hand and thanks everyone for supporting independent wrestling. The fans chant that Vince is going to screw him, and Danielson jokes that McMahon couldn’t do that again, could he? Danielson thanks everyone and embraces Freddie before departing for the WWE full-time, again.

Final Thoughts:
Wolves/Olsen, Brodie Lee winning the title, and Freddie/Danielson make this an overall fun viewing experience that also had a couple of other solid matches thrown in there. I’d give this a recommendation as it was a quality show.

Thanks for reading.