Northeast Wrestling presents Rage In The Cage
Date: 5/2/2009
From: Waterbury, CT
MATCH #1: ROB ECKOS VS. FRANKIE ARION
FINISH: Arion pins Eckos following a running knee strike.
Bob’s Take: Eckos taunted Arion early on and that prompted Arion’s flurry of strikes at the start. Arion delivered a standing moonsault for a near fall and caused Eckos to regroup. Eckos begs off after several rollup attempts. Eckos stops Arion by shoving Arion off the top into the railing. Eckos kept control by sending Eckos into the corner and dropped Arion over the ropes gut first. Arion head scissors Eckos out of the corner to gain the momentum. Arion delivered another head scissors and several clotheslines. Arion kicked Eckos on the back of the head for a near fall. Eckos avoids a top rope crossbody, but Arion hits a bulldog out of the corner for a near fall. Eckos pulls Arion off the middle rope to stop Arion’s offense. Eckos almost steals it by using the ropes to counter a cradle. Arion rolls through a hurricanrana and almost won the match. Eckos superkicks Arion for another near fall. Arion delivers a running knee to pin Eckos. There was some good action here throughout. Arion is someone I continue to enjoy on the indies in this era, and Eckos worked well with his heel persona. A good match to keep the crowd energetic.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #2: MATT TAVEN VS. ROMEO ROSELLI
FINISH: Roselli pins Taven following a Rock Bottom.
Bob’s Take: Roselli gains the advantage early on with a hip toss, but Taven responded quickly with a series of offense to send Romeo reeling. Taven heel kicks Roselli, but is sent over the ropes to the floor. Roselli kept control and presses Taven’s back into the post. Roselli kept control with a vertical suplex. Roselli slams Taven before hitting a middle rope elbow drop. Taven misses a dropkick as Roselli held onto the ropes. Roselli missed a splash in the corner. Taven nails Roselli with a series of clotheslines and an elbow strike. Taven spin kicks Roselli and delivered a standing moonsault. Taven hit a springboard crossbody, but Romeo rolled through and almost pinned Taven with a handful of tights. Romeo drops Taven with a backstabber for another two count. Taven almost wins Romeo with a top rope moonsault. Romeo stops Taven coming off the top rope with a strike in midair. Taven almost surprises Romeo with an inside cradle. Romeo nails Taven with a clothesline. Romeo delivers a Rock Bottom for the clean win. I’m honestly surprised to see Romeo win cleanly, but here we are. Taven isn’t an ROH guy yet, so it shouldn’t be a total surprise and probably isn’t one in 2009. This was another match I enjoyed and this is the kind of win that should make Romeo a contender to the NEW Heavyweight Championship, I’d assume.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #3: AMBER VS. VELVET SKY
FINISH: Sky wins following a DDT.
Bob’s Take: Sky was presented as a babyface during her entrance, but she’s absolutely acting the heel role, which is what should be expected considering her run in TNA. Amber starts off dropkicking Sky to the floor causing Sky to stall a bit on the floor. Sky runs away from Amber and gained control upon rolling back into the ring. Amber works over Sky in the corner, but Sky delivers a kick to the chest to stop Amber. Amber almost wins following a neckbreaker. Sky stands on Amber’s hair and pulls her arms upward. Sky elbow drops Amber, but couldn’t keep her down. Amber gets a series of moves including a monkey flip. Sky stops Amber with a DDT for the win. The finish felt a bit underwhelming. Neither woman came across all that strongly, but I’d say Amber looked better than Sky in-ring.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #4: MIKE BENNETT & TOMMASO CIAMPA VS. RON SIMMONS & BULL DREDD
NOTE: Prior to the match, Simmons does his damn gimmick to scare the heels.
FINISH: Simmons pins Bennett following a spinebuster.
Bob’s Take: It’s honestly bizarre to see Ciampa with long hair. Dredd and Ciampa work the start of the match with Dredd working over Ciampa early on. Dredd tossed Ciampa by his hair across the ring. Bennett and Simmons get in the ring with Bennett getting the better of Simmons mostly with strikes. Dredd gets tagged in and cleans house with clotheslines. Ciampa leaps off the middle rope, but is met with a strike. Bennett pummels Dredd on the mat to help out Ciampa. Bennett kept control on Dredd while taunting the fans. Dredd is driven to the mat with a double back suplex. Ciampa delivers a headbutt to the midsection of Dredd. Bennett and Ciampa miss a double team leg drop allowing Simmons to enter the match. Bennett stomps on Simmons, but can’t put Simmons away. Simmons plants Bennett with a spinebuster for the win. There’s not much to this action wise, but Simmons still looks to be in good shape and the spinebuster is still a devastating move. I’ve seen legends do a lot less than what Simmons provided here.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #5: NEW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION JASON BLADE VS. EDDIE EDWARDS
FINISH: Blade pins Edwards following a top rope frog splash to retain the title.
Bob’s Take: Blade and Edwards feel each other out that included a near rollup by Blade. Blade dropkicked Edwards early on to keep the momentum. Edwards gets control with strikes in the corner. Edwards headbutts Blade, but is stopped by Blade’s strikes. Blade elbows Edwards, but is cutoff by Edwards quickly. Blade leg drops Edwards over the middle rope and delivers a dropkick over the apron. Blade slingshot senton splashes Edwards. Blade strikes Edwards in the corner, but is met with a kick. Edwards leaps off the middle rope to deliver a Codebreaker. Edwards knee lifts Blade to keep basic control over the champ. Blade clubs Edwards over the back, but Blade delivers a hurricanrana only for Edwards to deck Blade with a clothesline. Edwards drops Blade with a vicious chop. Blade almost wins with a bridge and a rollup. Blade takes Edwards out with a somersault dive to the floor. Blade delivers a leaping forearm and gets a flurry of knockdowns. Blade backdrops Edwards to keep the momentum. Blade heads to the top rope hitting a crossbody for a near fall. Edwards staggers Blade with a jawbreaker. Blade hits a modified Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Edwards takes Blade’s head off with a superkick for a near fall. Blade drives Edwards to the mat for a near fall. Edwards counters a rollup and nearly pins Blade. Blade kicks Edwards, but is met with a kick on the top turnbuckle. Edwards hit a backpack stunner for a two count. Edwards and Blade battled on the top rope where Blade hit a top rope hurricanrana. Blade delivers a superkick and leaps off the top to hit a frog splash to win the match and retain the title. A decent title defense for Blade, but it seemed to lack intensity between the two men. Edwards is a guy that I’m always interested in seeing on the indies and he looked good here, too. I was hoping for a bit more, but it’s a solid enough match.
Match Rating: ***
Backstage, Brian Anthony is interviewed regarding his match with Jerry Lawler. Anthony says Lawler may be the king of Memphis, but this is Waterbury. Anthony declares he’s the king of Connecticut.
Prior to the next match, Jerry Lawler and Brian Anthony do some crowd work.
MATCH #6: BRIAN ANTHONY VS. JERRY LAWLER
FINISH: Lawler finishes off Anthony with a piledriver.
Bob’s Take: Anthony starts the match by slamming Lawler and gloating about doing so. Anthony continues to dominate the match with a backdrop. Lawler backdrops Anthony followed by a slam to get momentum. Anthony regained control with strikes in the corner, but Lawler jabbed Anthony several times. Lawler drops Anthony with a stunner. Anthony recovers to gain control with strikes in the corner followed by a clothesline. Lawler drives Anthony into the corner head first several times. Lawler suplexs Anthony into the ring from the apron. Lawler avoids a backdrop by delivering a piledriver for the win. Lawler kept it very basic here and hardly broke a sweat working the match. Lawler has a formula that is easy on his body and keeps getting strong pops from the crowd. Anthony bumped around well for Lawler.
Match Rating: *
Backstage, Prince Jalil Salaam cuts a promo regarding the steel cage match with Ron Zombie. Salaam promises he’s going to torture Zombie and make him bleed. Salaam will make Zombie beg for mercy.
Backstage, Ron Zombie is interviewed regarding the steel cage match. Zombie notes there’s nowhere to run tonight.
MAIN EVENT: PRINCE JALIL SALAAM VS. RON ZOMBIE — STEEL CAGE MATCH
FINISH: Zombie pins Salaam following a lifting DDT onto a chair. After the match, Brian Anthony slams the cage door on Zombie’s head and rams the referee into the cage before getting a table into the ring. Anthony uses a chain to keep the door shut. Zombie is beaten down by Salaam. Anthony sends the referee into the cage, but Frankie Arion has come out to try and help out. Anthony leaps off the top of the cage to elbow drop Zombie through a table. The locker room empties to chase off Salaam and Anthony, but the damage is done.
Bob’s Take: Zombie attacks Salaam on the floor prior to the match starting and they trade a bunch of punches. Zombie whacks Salaam over the back with a steel chair shot. Zombie rams Salaam into the cage and ring steps. Once they get into the ring where Salaam stomps on Zombie. Zombie blocks being sent into the cage, but continued to be worked over. Zombie drives Salaam to the mat with a spinebuster. Salaam tries to escape the cage, but can’t leave. Zombie rams Salaam into the cage face first, but doesn’t try to escape. Salaam is busted wide open at this point and continues to be sent into the cage. Zombie comes off the top to hit a leg drop. Brian Anthony comes out to ringside. Salaam throws powder into Zombie’s face, and Anthony gets a steel chair. Salaam decks Zombie with a clothesline. Zombie plants Salaam with a lifting DDT onto a chair for the win. This is actually far more one-sided for Zombie than I thought it would be. Salaam didn’t have an extended beatdown that you may expect in this kind of match. It’s not a bad cage match, but I wish Salaam had more of a heat segment to put sympathy on Zombie. The aftermath was good and sets up some feuds moving forward for the local names.
Match Rating: *1/2
Final Thoughts:
A quick watch as this show comes in under two hours. Some good action and a energetic crowd makes this was a good, thumbs up show from NEW.
Thanks for reading.