Squared Circle Wrestling presents Under New Management
Date: 8/15/2026
From: Watertown, NY
Kurt Angle makes his way out to kickoff the show. Angle does his usual hype job for 2CW and gets the crowd excited for some wrestling, but gets cutoff by Muscle Marcos. Marcos introduces himself to Angle and shows off his muscles. Marcos claims he’s not scared nor intimidated by Angle’s medals. Marcos asks if Angle can handle all his muscle. Angle can’t wrestle Marcos, but he has an opponent for Marcos. The reveal is the returning… Dick Justice!
MATCH #1: DICK JUSTICE VS. MUSCLE MARCOS
FINISH: Justice forces Marcos to submit to the ankle lock.
Bob’s Take: I seem to recall a time where Justice had said he was taking a break from wrestling, and admittedly I hadn’t seen him in a long time until he had appeared at 1UP Wrestling, but after looking him up on Cagematch, Justice had made at least one appearance in some form every year excluding COVID year. At one point, Justice had even gotten a gig at TNA for how over the character had gotten. Well, there’s not much action here to get behind and it was likely just designed to be a simple pop for the crowd since Justice tends to be an entertaining comedy wrestler.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #2: JAY FREDDIE VS. DALTON CASTLE
FINISH: Castle pins Freddie following the bangarang.
Bob’s Take: Early on, they focus on a mat wrestling approach until Freddie delivered an arm drag causing Castle to regroup. Castle gets his first momentum with a running knee on the apron to knock Freddie out of the corner. Freddie battled back with a middle rope bulldog. Freddie continued with an atomic drop and clothesline. Castle counters Freddie to hit the bangarang for the win. There was some decent action, but underwhelming. My problem is going to be getting my head out of 2014/2015 for a lot of the these guys because the expectation may still be associated with what they’re capable of over a decade ago and it’s not realistic.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #3: ALLIE KATCH VS. MERCEDES MARTINEZ
FINISH: Match ends due to Martinez suffering an injury.
Bob’s Take: This is a debut for Allie Katch in 2CW. They start off with a mat wrestling focus until Katch delivered an elbow drop. Mercedes responded with strikes and chops. Martinez continued with a running boot in the corner and a spinebuster. Mercedes looking good in the early moments of the bout. However, Mercedes delivers a running boot and holds her left knee in pain. Martinez legit tore her ACL. Obviously, I’m not going to rate this match due the unfortunate injury. Martinez was looking great and it’s a shame that happened.
Match Rating: NR
Bin Hamin makes her way out and says that he’ll take care of Mercedes Martinez and she’ll be fine. Hamin brags that he’s going to raise gas prices to $5 a gallon. Hamin gets cutoff by Jerry Bykes. Bykes says he’s going to shut Hamin up.
MATCH #4: BIN HAMIN VS. JERRY BYKES
FINISH: Bykes pins Hamin with a quick rollup. After the match, Bykes wants a real challenge and issues an open challenge. That challenge is answered by the returning Brute Van Slyke.
Bob’s Take: This is less than ten-seconds long as Bykes wins with a rollup. Honestly, the less Hamin is in the ring the better.
Match Rating: NR
MATCH #5: BRUTE VAN SLYKE VS. JERRY BYKES
FINISH: Van Slyke pins Bykes following a double arm DDT. After the match, Brute destroys Bykes bike.
Bob’s Take: Brute had retired while working for 1UP less than a year ago, but he’s back. Brute won in roughly the same time of the previous match. There’s no way Brute can work a match much longer than this considering his inactivity.
Match Rating: NR
MATCH #6: HIGH SEAS (CLOUDY & ANDO) VS. BACKSEAT BOYS (JP & TOMMY)
FINISH: Backseat Boys pin Cloudy following the T-Gimmick.
Bob’s Take: High Seas attack before the match officially started for the cheap advantage, but that didn’t last as the Boys hit a double X-Factor and slingshot dives to the floor. Boys continue to control the match by backdropping Ando and hitting a double side Russian leg sweep on Cloudy. Tommy hits a top rope twisting splash on Cloudy for a near fall. Ando accidentally clotheslines Cloudy to the floor, but Cloudy sends Tommy into the ring post as the High Seas have gotten control of the bout. Tommy continues to be worked over by Ando after a double suplex. High Seas hit a camel clutch/dropkick combo on Tommy. Cloudy plants Tommy with a nice sit out spinebuster. High Seas double team Tommy in an abdominal stretch while the referee is distracted. JP gets the hot tag and cleans house with strikes. JP double knee strikes Ando and delivered a yakuza kick. Backseats hit the Hart Attack and the Dream Sequence on Ando, but Cloudy made the save. Cloudy nails Tommy with the Zig Zag, but JP hit an Un-Prettier on Cloudy. Ando spikes JP with a piledriver, but Tommy counters on to hit the Air Raid Crash. Ando saves Cloudy from the T-Gimmick and hits a double spear. Ando takes JP off top with a hurricanrana into a cutter by Cloudy. Ando followed up with a Falcon Arrow, but can’t put JP away. Backseats hit double yakuza kicks before finishing Cloudy off with the T-Gimmick. That was a good tag match. Backseats are a very good tag team and this is one of the better tag matches that I’ve seen from the High Seas. Backseats could have had trouble trying to live up to the Backseats of the early 2000s, but they are quite good. Consistent action and good pacing from these two teams.
Match Rating: ***1/2
MATCH #7: COREY JACKSON VS. PAT SAWYER VS. PETE D. ORDER VS. SUPER BEAST VS. SEAN CARR VS. STEVE MCKENZIE — ELIMINATION MATCH
FINISH: Carr pins Sawyer to win the match following a top rope swanton bomb.
Bob’s Take: Six person matches are a staple in 2CW, but they typically featured lower tier talent or newbies. Mckenzie pinned Order for the first elimination early into the match. Beast eliminates Mckenzie after a big splash. Carr superkicks Beast followed by a big boot by Sawyer and a step up kick by Jackson to eliminate Beast. So, luckily the final three are probably the most skilled in the match. Beast has been eliminated but the other three decides to hit dives to the floor. Carr did a suicide dive, Jackson somersaulted over the ropes and Sawyer hit a springboard somersault dive landing in the front row. I’ve never seen Sawyer do that before and it was quite impressive. Jackson spears Sawyer to gain the control. Carr nailed Jackson with a cutter. Sawyer delivers a heel kick to Carr and a splash in the corner. Carr delivered an impressive rolling fireman carry on Sawyer and a moonsault. Sawyer nails Jackson with the Broken Treaties to eliminate Jackson, but Carr quickly hits the swanton bomb for the win. This went quite a bit better than I expected. The first three eliminations got done quickly and the final three guys put forth an enjoyable match. Sawyer looked especially good as this may be the best he’s ever looked. Jackson is a guy to keep an eye on as he was a standout with 1UP Wrestling and has a ton of potential to breakout big time for 2CW. I enjoyed this.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #8: MIKE SKYROS VS. EDDIE EDWARDS
FINISH: Skyros pins Edwards following a leaping middle rope DDT.
Bob’s Take: Edwards looks to be in great shape. Early on, they focus on some mat wrestling leading to a standoff and the crowd appreciated it. These two have wrestled previously in Watertown for 1UP. Edwards pops the crowd with a chop, but Skyros responds with an overhead suplex. Skyros nails Edwards with a bicycle kick. Edwards drops Skyros with another chop and delivered a series of clotheslines. Skyros tries to trade chops, but that didn’t work very well. Skyros delivers elbow strikes and a splash in the corner to gain momentum before hitting a pump handle side slam for a near win. They trade several pin attempts until Skyros delivered a kneeling dropkick and an F5 for a near fall. Edwards avoids a middle rope DDT and kicks Skyros on the top turnbuckle to deliver a backpack stunner. They trade chops and Edwards delivers a clothesline before hitting a Tiger Bomb for a near fall. Edwards decks Skyros with another short arm clothesline and a Tiger Driver for a two count. Skyros avoids a shining wizard, but Edwards stops Skyros on the top. Skyros bites Edwards away and hits the Skyfall DDT to win the match! I will admit that I am typically not a person who would classify himself as a fan of Skyros, but this one delivered a good match. Edwards looked motivated and putting over Skyros middle in the ring is a huge victory for Skyros. I’m interested in seeing how Skyros continues in this era of 2CW, because he may have found a formula that works for him and deliver quality matches.
Match Rating: ***1/4
MATCH #9: CHEECH VS. MATT TAVEN
FINISH: Taven pins Cheech following a top rope frog splash.
Bob’s Take: Taven nails Cheech with a dropkick in the early moments of the match and reminds fans who he is. Cheech responded with a head scissors out of the corner. Cheech kicks Taven on the knee and a knee strike to continue his momentum. Cheech puts an interesting leg lock on Taven that turned into a near fall. Taven builds momentum with a suplex and a baseball slide dropkick. Cheech superkicks Taven for a near fall. Cheech kicks Taven in the tree of woe. Taven kicks Cheech in the corner and delivers a roundhouse kick. Taven plants Cheech with a DDT and delivered a top rope elbow drop for a near fall. Taven almost finishes off Cheech with the Climax, which Cheech sold very well. Taven missed a springboard moonsault and Cheech delivered a spinebuster. Cheech delivers a 619 from the floor into the ring. Taven connects with a penalty kick and finished off Cheech with a top rope frog splash. A fine match, but nothing too spectacular. It’s not a boring match, but it kind of felt like it was just there on the undercard. It’s acceptable action and solid overall match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Prior to the main event, Don Freeze comes out being pushed out on a freezer.
MAIN EVENT: TNA X-DIVISION CHAMPION CEDRIC ALEXANDER VS. DON FREEZE — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Alexander wins following the Lumbar Check after Freeze missed a twisting splash from the top rope.
Bob’s Take: Freeze gets the crowd behind him following a dropkick to send Alexander to the floor to regroup. The crowd is heavily behind Freeze. Alexander responds with chops and strikes in the corner. Freeze delivers a splash in the corner and a bridging suplex for a near fall. Freeze nails Alexander with a superman punch, but is stopped on a handspring attempt. Alexander kicks Freeze from the apron on the floor. Alexander back suplexs Freeze onto the apron. Alexander continued with a snap German suplex. Alexander continued with a dropkick to the back of Don’s head. Freeze delivers a spinning side slam to stop Alexander’s control. Freeze slams Alexander in the corner and nearly wins after a moonsault. Alexander stops Freeze with a dragon screw leg whip. Alexander drops Freeze with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. They trade forearms in the middle of the ring. Freeze nails Alexander with a kick, but is stopped by a spear. Alexander delivers a Death Valley Driver and locked in a Crossface. Freeze battles back with a suplex turned into a cutter. Alexander strikes Freeze on the top turnbuckle. Freeze knocks Alexander off the ropes and missed a twisting splash. Alexander finishes Freeze off with the Lumbar Check. It shouldn’t be surprising that Alexander controlled a good portion of the match since he’s a champion for a TV promotion. Freeze didn’t look like a scrub as Alexander gave him some brief moments of shine, but this mostly felt like Alexander showcasing his skills and looking good while doing it. Freeze is another guy that could be a great babyface for 2CW moving forward. A solid main event, but I was hoping for a bit more competitive vibes.
Match Rating: **1/2
Final Thoughts:
The first half of the show was a bit rough to get through, but from the tag match onwards this was a good 2CW show. Jackson, Freeze, Skyros, Backseats and High Seas were standout talents on the show. Again, Skyros especially impressed me as I had previously been underwhelmed by his work, but it clicked on this night. I’ll consider this a good show overall show. It can be watched on their patreon for only $5 a month along with their archives.
Thanks for reading.