NEW Heatwave 8/8/2015

Northeast Wrestling presents Heatwave
Date: 8/8/2015
From: Bethany, CT

Opening Contest: TK O’Ryan vs. Flip Gordon: Early on, they trade a few wrist locks. TK stomps on Gordon’s shoulder after a snapmare. They begin to trade forearms and chops. TK gets the better of the exchange but Gordon fights back with a few arm drags and head scissors TK to the floor. Flip springboards off the top rope to take TK out with a crossbody to the floor. Flip goes for a cover, but TK kicks out at two. TK superkicks Gordon coming off the middle rope for a near fall. TK works over Gordon in the corner with chops. TK drives Gordon down to the mat with a vertical suplex for a two count. TK stomps on Gordon to keep control of the contest. Gordon fights back with strikes, but a knee strike stops him. TK tries for a suplex, but Gordon breaks free and almost wins with a rollup. TK nails Gordon with a big boot for a two count. TK goes back to a headlock on the mat. Gordon ducks a clothesline and hits a handspring back elbow. Gordon kicks TK on the side of the head and hits a standing moonsault for a two count. Gordon forearms TK in the corner. Gordon kicks TK on the top rope and drops to the floor. Gordon gains footing on the top looking for a 450 splash, but TK got his knees up. TK spikes Gordon with a piledriver for the clean win. (**1/4. A fine start to the show as they didn’t go too long. The action was average for the most part with the closing minutes picking up and providing some fun offense from both men. I was not expecting a clean win for TK, so that was a fine surprise to me. Despite the loss, Gordon came across stronger than TK in my eyes.)

Lukas Sharp comes out and says he’s going to keep it real. Sharp says he knows everyone is pissed that Jimmy Preston isn’t here because he had a WWE tryout and he failed miserably. Thus, Preston isn’t here because he’s depressed. Sharp now says that Preston just arrived to the arena and says he needs to come out right now. Sharp taunts the crowd when Preston doesn’t appear. The referee begins to count to ten and Sharp wins by count-out before leaving.

Second Contest: Daniel Evans vs. Randy Shawn: Shawn sends Evans to the floor following a dropkick. Evans forearms Shawn from the floor, but Shawn hits a baseball slide and a suicide dive to the floor! Shawn hammers away on Evans in the corner with right hands. Evans drops Shawn over the top rope throat first. Evans hits a side slam for a near fall. Evans misses a clothesline and Shawn almost wins with a rollup. Evans decks Shawn with a clothesline for a near fall. Evans pummels Shawn in the corner with several strikes. Evans clotheslines Shawn in the corner leading to a near fall. Shawn runs into a knee strike coming off the ropes. Evans yanks Shawn down to the mat by his hair. Shawn clotheslines Evans a few times and delivers a neckbreaker. Shawn almost wins with a sloppy rollup. Evans decks Shawn with a forearm strike leading to a near fall. Shawn ducks a clothesline to hit a Codebreaker for the win. (*1/4. That was a shock. I had gotten the vibe that this was going to be a showcase for Evans and he ends up doing the clean job. Shawn is a sloppy wrestler and his rollups looked awful.)

Third Contest: Dalton Castle vs. Hanson: Hanson pummels Castle in the corner with several strikes to the midsection. Castle ducks a strike and does a pose to stop Hanson in his tracks. Hanson tries for a hip toss, but Castle lands on his feet. Hanson misses a clothesline and Castle hits a head scissors. Castle knee strikes Hanson in the corner a few times. Castle misses a running knee in the corner and hits the top turnbuckle. Castle knocks Hanson to the floor and fakes a dive deciding to strut instead. Hanson returns to the ring and misses a heel kick. Castle leaps off the top, but lands on his feet and is met with an elbow strike. Hanson continues to beat on Castle with a few kicks to Castle’s body and head. Castle fights back with chops, but a boot to the gut stops that momentum. Castle fights out of the corner with strikes but an elbow stops him. Hanson continues to taunt Castle with boot strikes on the mat. Castle gets some momentum with strikes and boots Hanson in the corner.

Castle clotheslines himself and Hanson over the top to the floor. Hanson strikes Castle in the midsection. Castle sends Hanson into the ring post and hits a head scissors off the apron. Castle nails Hanson with a suicide dive to the floor and Hanson lands on the aisle way. Hanson slams Castle to the mat but misses a splash off the ropes. Castle tries for a deadlift German and manages to hit it for a near fall! Castle elbows Hanson several times in the corner. Hanson decks Castle with a clothesline after doing a cartwheel for a near fall. Hanson hits a bronco buster in the corner. Hanson goes to the middle rope but Castle gets a boot up to stop Hanson. Castle has Hanson on his shoulders briefly. Castle headbutts Hanson and runs into a heel kick leading to a clean pin for Hanson. (***. An enjoyable hard hitting contest between these two. They worked a good pace and Castle was able to showcase his strength against a big man in an effective manner. A fun undercard singles match.)

Before the next match, Cam Zagami celebrates Anthony Greene’s birthday and gives him some hair gel along with a picture of himself.

Fourth Contest: NEW Tag Team Champions Battle Brothers vs. Can Am Connection (Anthony Greene & Cam Zagami): Greene and Zamgami hit dropkicks only for the champs to drop Greene onto Zamgami’s back. Zagami is driven down with a backbreaker and a running knee strike. Battle Brothers hit senton splashes onto Zagami for a two count. The champs collide in the corner and Anthony decks Chris to the floor on accident. Greene gets the hot tag and is sent into the corner. Greene hits a middle rope dropkick and is fired up. Greene delivers a running boot in the corner and dives to the floor. Greene superkicks Chris, but is met with a pump kick. Anthony Battle almost wins with a crossbody. Greene powers up and fights back with strikes. Greene tries for a top rope crossbody, but is caught and slammed to the mat. Zagami is speared by Chris. Battle Brothers hit stereo cannonball splashes in opposite corners. Greene is laid out as Anthony Battle hits a top rope splash for the clean win. (*1/2. That wasn’t too bad for the sprint that it was. Greene did a good job trying to be an underdog and his quick offense was enjoyable. Zagami didn’t do much here. Battle Brothers are okay and seem to do well as long as they are presented in a dominate role.) After the match, Battle’s manager breaks a picture frame over Zagami’s head.

Fifth Contest: Brian Anthony vs. Ron Zombie in an axe handle and barbed wire bat are legal match: Anthony hides the barbed wire bat under the ring. Zombie runs into the ring and ducks a strike with the axe handle. Zombie boots Anthony coming off the ropes. Zombie delivers a neckbreaker after sending Anthony chest first into the corner. Anthony nails Zombie with a running yakuza kick for a near fall. Anthony pummels Zombie with a series of strikes on the mat. Anthony forearms Zombie followed by a fist drop off the ropes. Anthony chokes Zombie over the middle rope and taunts the crowd while doing so. Anthony continues with stomps in the corner to drop Zombie to the mat. Anthony delivers a running knee strike in the corner and snapmares Zombie to the mat for a near fall. Anthony splashes Zombie in the corner, but runs into a choke. Anthony breaks free of a chokeslam and chop blocks Zombie’s leg.

Anthony grabs the axe handle. Anthony has the axe handle but misses a shot in the corner. Zombie decks Anthony to the mat with a right hand. They trade several strikes until Anthony knee lifts Zombie. Anthony takes Zombie over with a snap suplex. Anthony heads to the top rope and is met with a chokeslam by Zombie. Zombie goes to the floor to find his barbed wire bat under the ring with help from the fans. Zombie hits Anthony in the chest and over the back with the bat a few times. Anthony’s shirt is ripped off and he bails to the floor. Anthony decides against returning to the ring and licks his blood leading to a count-out. (1/2*. As expected any match involving Zombie is not going to be good. Anthony is a good worker and is being wasted as he’s stuck in a feud with a poor in-ring worker like Zombie.)

Sixth Contest: Bandido Jr. vs. Mike Webb in a loser leaves NEW for one year: Webb is waiting on the aisle for Bandido, but Bandido attacks Webb from behind. Bandido hits a springboard cutter for a near fall! Webb bails to the floor to regroup. Bandido chops Webb around ringside. Webb tries for a backdrop, but Bandido bounces off the ropes to hit a head scissors followed by a superkick. Webb gets control with a few strikes around ringside. Bandido elbows Webb but gets slammed onto the apron as Webb countered a bulldog attempt. Bandido regains control by dropkicking Webb over the middle rope. Bandido kicks Webb in the corner and climbs to the top rope hitting a missile dropkick for a near fall. Webb drops Bandido over the top rope and flies over the top rope to knock Bandido to the floor. Bandido counters a powerbomb with a hurricanrana. Bandido drops Webb with a spinning kick to the head followed by a quick dropkick. Bandido stomps on Webb over the apron before Webb drops to the floor.

Bandido sits Webb on the chair and gets a running head start only to be dropkicked on the leg and lands face first onto the chair. Webb tries for a cover, but Bandido kicks out at two. Webb drives Bandido down to the mat with a back suplex for a near fall. Webb takes Bandido over with a snap suplex for a near fall. Webb locks in a sleeper hold and Bandido drops to the mat. Bandido prevents his arm from dropping three times and starts to get to his feet. Bandido rams Webb into the corner back first a few times. Bandido staggers Webb with a jawbreaker. Bandido pummels Webb in the corner with several strikes followed by a double knee in the corner and a clothesline. Bandido hits a Death Valley Driver for a near fall.

Webb drops Bandido over the top rope from apron and leaps off the top to hit a double knee strike for a two count. Bandido sends Webb into the corner and is met with a boot in the corner. Bandido kicks Webb on a double springboard. Bandido plants Webb with an elevated DDT, but Webb got his boot on the bottom rope. Bandido forearms Webb several times, but Webb comes back with a Fame-Asser for a near fall. Webb drops Bandido gut first to the mat followed by a big boot. Bandido gets kicked off the middle rope. Webb hits a fisherman suplex, but Bandido gets a second wind. Webb hits a modified Muscle Buster and wins the match clean. (**1/2. That’s a surprising outcome since Bandido seems to be a fun babytace for NEW. I could see this getting an enormous blowoff in a year when/if Bandido were to return, but independent wrestling often times prevents that type of thing from happening. They probably didn’t need to go this long and it kind of lacked the intensity the stipulation should have. I would have gone for more of a brawl focused match than what they ended up going with. After looking it up, Bandido hasn’t wrestled since this contest, according to Cagematch.)

Seventh Contest: Arrogation (Dan De Man & Bobby Ocean) vs. Team Friendship (Scotty Slade & Mark Shurman) in a number one contenders match: Ocean and Dan attack on the floor before the bell sounds for the cheap advantage. Shurman is double teamed in the corner for a few moments. Shurman fights out of the corner with several strikes. Shurman hits a double shoulder block managing to tag in Slade. Slade clotheslines Ocean and tags Shurman back into the contest. Shurman decks Ocean with a short arm clothesline. Slade clotheslines a seated Ocean for a near fall. Friendship hit a backbreaker/big boot combo for a near fall. Shurman arm drags Dan a few times followed by a slam for a near fall. Dan yanks Shurman down to the mat followed by a clothesline. Ocean takes Shurman over with a snap suplex. Dan returns to the contest and hammers away on Evans. Shurman continues to be worked over by Ocean and Dan. Shurman comes off the middle rope and is driven down to the mat face first by Dan. Dan tries to use a rope to choke Shurman, but Shurman plants Dan with a spinebuster. Slade pulls Shurman towards the corner with the rope and gets the tag. Slade cleans house with clotheslines and elbow strikes. Slade forearms Dan to the apron and drops Ocean with a running boot. Dan plants Slade with a Codebreaker. Ocean misses a diving headbutt. Friendship hit a back suplex/neckbreaker combo on Ocean to win the match. (*. That was a mostly boring match with a predictable outcome. Team Friendship seem to be a good team to challenge the heel champs and have the fans be supportive of. The action was just too bland for me.) After the match, the Battle Brothers come out for a confrontation. This leads to a brawl until officials run into the ring and break them up.

Eighth Contest: Michael Bennett vs. Frankie Arion: Bennett plays to the crowd and is met with a dropkick. Arion stomps on Bennett on the apron and continues with chops around ringside. Arion rams Bennett onto the apron face first. Bennett decks Arion with a forearm and rams Arion’s face onto a steel chair. Bennett sits Arion on a chair at ringside. Bennett knocks Arion out of the chair. Arion hits a Death Valley Driver on the apron after Bennett was distracted by Arion’s manager. Arion humps the back of Bennett’s head and that fires Bennett up only to miss a splash in the corner. Arion and Bennett trade strikes on the middle rope. Arion takes Bennett off the middle rope with a hurricanrana for a two count. Arion gets a microphone and says he’s bummed that Maria wasn’t able to be there. Bennett superkicks Arion, who does a ridiculous sell before falling on his face. Arion proceeds to kip up and is met with another superkick and clotheslines in the corner. Arion runs into a spinebuster nearly giving Bennett a three count.

Bennett misses a splash in the corner as does Arion. Bennett tries for a springboard, but Arion knocks Bennett off the apron to the floor. Arion forearms Bennett a few times, but a boot stops him. Arion kicks Bennett several times followed by a superkick. Bennett spears Arion for a near fall. Bennett avoids a kick, but Arion double stomps Bennett for a two count. Arion hammers away on Bennett in the corner. Bennett plants Arion with a pop up powerbomb for a two count. Arion counters a powerbomb with a hurricanrana and tries for a backslide. Arion plants Bennett with a bulldog out of the corner. Arion heads to the top rope hitting a double stomp to the back for the clean win. (**1/4. What in the world?! This show is full of complete surprises and I’m fine with it. I was never expecting Arion to actually prevail here, but this is a huge win for him to beat Bennett cleanly. The crowd was deflated with that result. The action was a little repetitive, but decent enough.)

Main Event: NEW Heavyweight Champion Matt Taven vs. Dijak in a Texas Death Match: Taven pulls Dijack to the floor and they trade strikes to start the match. Taven rams Dijak on the concessions table and hits him with mustard. Dijak elbows Taven a few times against the ring post. Dijak misses an elbow and hits the ring post. Dijak avoids a trash can lid shot in the ring and has Taven over his shoulders. Taven breaks free with elbow strikes, but Dijak drops Taven with a back elbow. Dijak grabs a lid from the floor, but Taven manages to whack Dijak over the head for a near fall. Taven chokes Dijak with a rope over the middle rope. Dijak flips Taven over the top to the floor to gain the upper hand. Dijak sends Taven into the ring steps. Dijak slams Taven on the outside. Dijak boots Taven on the floor and taunts the fans. Dijak hits Taven with a cardboard cup, which Taven sells. Dijak does the same with a plastic bottle. Diajk tosses Taven on the concession tables. Dijak punches Taven on the table a few times. Diajk digs the ring bell into Taven’s forehead. Dijak throws Taven into the wall. They head outside the venue onto the patio. Dijak sends Taven into the moving truck face first.

Dijak whacks Taven over the head with a fans sign. Dijak tries for a cover in the ring, but Taven refuses to stay down. Dijak whips Taven over the back with a belt. Dijak punches Taven with the belt wrapped around his fist. Taven avoids a corkscrew senton and avoids a big boot in the corner. Taven gets some revenge whipping Dijak with the belt. Taven wraps the belt around his fist and drops Dijak with a strike. Taven climbs to the top rope, but Dijak stops Taven only to be knocked down. Dijak hits a chokebreaker for a near fall. Dijak goes to the floor and slides chairs into the ring. Dijak leaves the ring and goes backstage to grab a table. Dijak sets the table up on the floor. Taven kicks Dijak on the apron and they begin to fight on the apron. Taven elbows free and chops Dijak several times. Dijak tries for a Death Valley Driver, but Taven lands in the ring and is met with an elbow strike. Dijak nails Taven with a chair shot. Dijak connects with a spinning yakuza kick for a near fall.

Dijak puts a few chairs onto Taven and goes to the top rope, but Taven crotches Dijak. Taven hits a middle rope back suplex having Dijak hit the chairs in the process. Taven hits a top rope frog splash for a near fall. They begin to trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Dijak superkicks Taven and lays Taven over the chairs. Dijak goes to the top, but Taven tosses a chair at Dijak and Dijak falls off the top crashing through the table on the floor. Taven rolls Dijak into the ring and hits the frog splash for the win. (**1/4. Dijak dressed as if he was playing in a pickup basketball game and that took me out of the match ever being a brutal encounter or anything of that nature. They didn’t do a lot of big spots aside from the closing minute. I was letdown by this match as I was hoping for a bloody match to finish their feud and that did not happen.)

Frankie Arion appears with his manager and they say that they hope Taven watched what Arion accomplished earlier. Arion is getting a title shot on October 10th. Taven’s days as champion are numbered. Taven wants Arion to find out why he’s must-see TV and the greatest champion in NEW history.

Final Thoughts:
There are a couple of entertaining matches, but for the most part this show is full of forgettable matches with average action. I liked that the matches had clean finishes and there were several shocking results, which helped the overall viewing. So, since the show was not completely predictable and the action was average, I’ll consider this an average overall show.

Thanks for reading.