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wrestlingwiththoughts · 8 years

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Evolve 79, February 25, 2016 (Queens, NY)

I thought something was afoot when I saw a group of five paramedics huddled together in the general attendance section in the crowd, but it turns out that these paramedics simply enjoyed their independent professional grappling. There also were noticeably more women in the crowd than in past Evolve shows, and it warmed my heart to hear one woman get very invested in the show. At one point, she yelled, “Wait, this is fake?” Despite that realization, she stayed and cheered Tracy Williams and Darby Allin, chanted “Bro” with the crowd at Matt Riddle, catcalled Timothy Thatcher, and applauded when Zack Sabre Jr. won the Evolve championship from Thatcher. After the show, at the nearby Taco Bell, I overheard a group of young women discuss how they were going to an upcoming WWE show with signs. It was really encouraging to see so many women at this Evolve show, and I hope that they all come back and bring friends. As Zack Sabre Jr. stated later, “Professional wrestling is for everyone; this Earth is for everyone.”

1. ACH vs. Jason Kincaid

I’ve been watching wrestling for long enough now that I have to value, possibly even over-value, when someone doesn’t move like everyone else. To me, that’s the appeal of someone like Jason Kincaid. ACH is a fine junior heavyweight wrestler, and Ring of Honor missed its chance to capitalize on ACH when he worked for the company. ACH was charismatic, sharing his confusion at Kincaid’s moves with stares at the crowd. When a wrestler interacts with the crowd by directing their reaction to their opponent, is it still breaking the fourth wall? ACH also displayed his athleticism with skillful dives, powerful dropkicks, and enziguri kicks. However, my eyes were drawn to Kincaid, whose movements remind me of Ophidian’s serpentine style, bending in ways that demand great flexibility and moving at angles that are different from other wrestlers. Kincaid slithers over ropes and around the ring to play into his Eastern meditation gimmick (which seems ripe for an eventual heel turn to team with someone like Stokely Hathaway, by the way), and his charismatic really shines through his movements. This was entertaining, and it set the crowd up to stay excited for the rest of the show.

2. Chris Dickinson vs. Fred Yehi vs. Austin Theory vs. Anthony Henry

Speaking of wrestlers who move at unique angles and have unique attacks, my attention during this match was on Fred Yehi, though Chris Dickinson was the actual focus of the match. Yehi plays into his small stature by attacking his opponent’s joints or areas where everyone, no matter how strong or fast, will be vulnerable, such as fingers and toes. His height also creates a different angle and look for the German suplex, which is ubiquitous in professional wrestling in 2017. The way Yehi bounces off the middle rope instead of the top rope is another way Yehi plays into his small stature to make himself a more compelling figure in the ring, and his work does not go unrecognized with me.

Dickinson, on the other hand, is a beefy fellow who has never impressed me in the ring. He has great looking power moves for a wrestler his size, and he has some blue collar charisma. His nickname, “Dirty Daddy,” is almost repugnant when chanted by the crowd, and he still bears the shame of his reckless chairshot on Kimber Lee and how he tried to defend himself. He reminds me of wrestlers like BJ Whitmer or Brent Albright who can hit some impressive looking offense without ever forming a connection with the crowd.

Austin Theory is tall and lanky, and he looked lost in some parts of this match, like he was desperately trying to remember when his spots took place during the match so he could impress the crowd. Also, I know that he’s playing with his name, but he really should reconsider wearing tights emblazoned with “Unproven” because it just makes him sound not tried and tested, which is what the word actually means.

As they say, Anthony Henry should be a crowd pleaser because he has two first names, but he was only slightly more memorable than Austin Theory. He exhibited a frantic sense of energy, and at least he didn’t seem like he was lost in the ring. The spot where he kicked both Dickinson and Yehi was almost believable

Dickinson won to continue the story of Catchpoint’s implosion by powerbombing Theory to score the pin while Yehi had Henry trapped in a submission hold. It was a creative ending, and it teases his upcoming tag team title challenge with Jaka against fellow Catchpoint members Yehi and Tracy Williams.

3. Jeff Cobb vs. Jaka

Part of me wonders if Gabe Sapolsky is tempted to use the same strategy to promote Jeff Cobb the same ways he was able to successfully promote Samoa Joe back in the early 2000s in Ring of Honor. While Cobb is similar to Joe in size and athleticism, the former Olympian Cobb has a grappling legitimacy that Joe could never claim. Unlike Samoa Joe, Cobb does not project a monstrous ferocity or confidence in his striking; though he is a large man, his chops don’t seem to carry the force that they should even though he has incredible physical strength, as he demonstrated with the delayed vertical superplex and the way he caught Jaka for the Tour of the Islands in the finish. I have felt that trying to package Cobb like he is the next Samoa Joe is a mistake because he can dominate opponents with his grappling, and Samoa Joe never excelled at ground-based grappling. Cobb also has incredible strength and surprising athleticism; his standing moonsault and shooting star press look physically impossible given his size.

Jaka, on the other hand, has great looking strikes, and I wish that they had leaned into this contrast more by making this a grappler vs. striker style match instead of the hoss fight template that they used. The match started violently and was paced to escalate, and it held the crowd’s attention. Nonetheless, I wonder if it could have been better, which seems to be the case with a lot of Jeff Cobb matches.

4. Keith Lee vs. Tracy Williams

With his bulky knee braces and kinesio tapes on his right shoulder, Tracy Williams looks like he is breaking down under the physical stress of his intense schedule and hard-hitting style. It would be a shame to see Williams sidelined because of his injuries, but it almost seems inevitable given his physical deterioration. His passion in the ring is almost unparalleled on the roster; only Fred Yehi projects intensity like Williams during matches.

Keith Lee is a large man who feels comfortable throwing his weight around the ring. Because he faced Williams, he was able to deny Williams simple things like Irish whips or suplexes due to the size difference, which set this in the classic “big man vs. little man” match template.

Williams jump Lee at the start of the match and overwhelm Lee, but Lee’s size advantage allowed him to weather the flurry of offense and grind Williams down with violent offense like belly to belly suplexes and a sitout powerbomb that bounced Williams and Lee off the mat and stunned even Lee with the force of the powerbomb. When Williams’s flurry failed to stun Lee to let Williams score a quick victory, he changed tactics and targeted Lee’s arm, including a hanging armbar in the ropes. However, Williams wasn’t able to stun Lee long enough to really wear out the arm, while every move Lee hit devastated Williams. Because Williams couldn’t grind Lee down to force a submission victory, he had to change tactics again and stand toe to toe with Lee. This was Williams’s undoing because Lee could easily cut Williams’s offense off with his power advantage, and Lee won the match with his Ground Zero move. The match was entertaining, and I appreciated the story they told about how Williams had to change his tactics several times to try to find a way to take Lee out. Williams’s intensity usually gives his matches a sense of purpose, and he works well with larger men, as his matches with Chris Hero and now Keith Lee demonstrate. I think he could have a great match with Jeff Cobb in the future.

5. Ethan Page w/The Gatekeepers vs. Darby Allin

I have not been a fan of Ethan Page, and this was maybe the first time that I can see him as a viable antagonist in Evolve. Most of the credit goes to Darby Allin, who once again sacrificed greatly in order to make himself a compelling figure in the ring. Allin came to the ring wearing a paper cutout of Page’s face as a mask, which gave him a creepy energy. Page attacked right away to start the match, but Allin was able to escape Page’s package piledriver attempt and send Page to the floor. He then hit the coffin drop trust fall on Page and the Gatekeepers to spark an already hot crowd. Page held the Gatekeepers back and brawled with Allin on the floor. As the larger man, Page gained the advantage and nearly killed Allin by throwing him from the La Boom stage to the ring post, which resulted in a sickening fall. I thought that would be the spot where Darby Allin almost dies, as he usually does during a match, but instead he dies multiple deaths after Page handcuffs Allin after a two count. Page practically begs Allin to give up, but Allin insists to the referee that he wants to continue the match, so Page destroys Allin with slams. Allin forces a comeback with a headbutt and an incredible hands-free hurricanrana on Page and dropkicks to the Gatekeepers. Page stops Allin on the top turnbuckle and hits him with a powerslam from the top rope, but Allin refuses to quit and spits at Page. Page is enraged and hits the RKEgo and a powerbomb to finally pin Allin in this match.

After the match, Page berated Allin for being a loser who is pitied by the crowd. The Gatekeepers then put Allin in a body bag, and Page declared that Allin should consider his career to be dead. Allin was then taken away, and Page stated his intentions to become the Evolve champion.

There is an annoying logic hole in the middle of the match where the referee should have disqualified Page for handcuffing Allin, but you could dismiss it by countering that Allin wanted the match to continue. The match served its multiple purposes well, using Allin’s never say die attitude to make Page look vicious and petty while allowing Allin to show resilience and bravery in a unique way. I dread the idea of Ethan Page as Evolve champion, which taps into a metanarrative heel heat as he builds his case to challenge for the Evolve championship.

6. Matt Riddle vs. Drew Galloway

Because Timothy Thatcher missed months of Evolve shows in 2016, Matt Riddle became the unofficial face of Evolve. His development took place most prominently in Evolve. Galloway, a former Evolve champion, was himself once the face of Evolve, but his crusade to save Evolve from itself seemed to fizzle out due to his injuries. Riddle hits a charging knee strike to start the match with a near fall, and he followed up with an exploder suplex and a running senton. Galloway recovered, and they brawled on the floor. Galloway slammed Riddle on the metal guard rail and targeted Riddle’s ankles and feet. Galloway then countered Riddle’s strikes with a short piledriver for a near fall. Riddle arose to continue to hit Galloway with strikes, but Galloway cut Riddle off with a running kick. This only stunned Riddle, who then hit Galloway with the fisherman brainbuster to lay both men out. They rose together and continued their battle, and Galloway got a near fall with the inverted Alabama Slam. Riddle countered the Future Shock with the Bro to Sleep. Galloway countered Riddle’s senton with double knees, set Riddle up on the top rope, and hit the air raid crash from the top. Riddle kicked out and frustrated Galloway. Galloway tried to hit the Future Shock, but Riddle escaped and hit a tombstone piledriver. Riddle then pounced and locked Galloway in the Bro-mission, forcing the referee to stop the match when Galloway appeared like he could not defend himself from Riddle’s hammer fists.

This was very entertaining, though it felt like Riddle and Galloway could have an even better match in the future. Galloway can claim that he never gave up and was cost the match by the referee stoppage. The finish also plays into Riddle’s MMA background, keeping that aspect of his work firmly in the crowd’s mind.

Galloway tried to tombstone piledriver Riddle on to a chair and Riddle’s championship belt, but Williams and Yehi drove Galloway away. Larry Dallas and Earl Cooter appeared for a momentum killing segment. Yehi then accused Riddle of being selfish and challenged him to a match.

7. Evolve championship match: Timothy Thatcher (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

By this point, Timothy Thatcher had become the most hated wrestler employed by Evolve and WWNLive. The string of listless title defenses in 2016 and his disappearance for months in 2016 didn’t help the perception that Thatcher had been exposed as a poor professional wrestler. I have said previously that Thatcher’s skill had been in his attention to detail during his matches; his struggles feel titanic and his matches demanded attention to detail. However, even that skill slipped, and the crowd was frustrated with Thatcher because he seemed unemotional in the ring. This coincided with Matt Riddle’s rise in Evolve, which included unsuccessful title challenges for Thatcher’s championship.

Zack Sabre Jr. only became more famous in 2016 after his participation in WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic. After the recent announcement that he would face Katsuyori Shibata for the Revolution Pro British Heavyweight Championship at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s 45th Anniversary show, Sabre’s chances of winning the Evolve championship seemed to plummet. After all, how could Evolve change from one champion who missed months of shows to another champion who could be similarly limited because he would have commitments to fill with New Japan.

Sabre and Thatcher charged each other at the opening bell and sought to trap the other in an arm bar. Sabre locks Thatcher in the guillotine, but Thatcher escapes with ground and pound strikes. The crowd began to chant “Ooh, Zack Sabre Jr.” but quickly changed to chanting “Thatcher’s garbage” and “Ooh, Thatcher is garbage.” This finally got Thatcher to react to the crowd; later in the match, Thatcher shouted, “I’m fucking winning” and smirked when Sabre was laid out in the corner. Thatcher used his size advantage to force his way out of Sabre’s holds and change the pace of the match by suplexing Sabre with a belly to back suplex. This match had a more urgent pace than their previous matches, which matched the crowd’s energy. Sabre eventually gains the advantage and locks in the octopus hold, but Thatcher escapes. They trade submission attempts as they enter the nearfall sequence. Sabre traps Thatcher in the double arm bar, but Thatcher counters into a cradle for a two count. Sabre follows up with a bridging German suplex that gets a two count. Sabre tries to press with the penalty kick, but Thatcher counters it with a dragon screw leg whip and follows it up with a gutwrench suplex and an arm bar. Sabre escapes by touching the ropes, Thatcher counters the PK, hits a dragon screw leg whip and follows with the gut wrench suplex into the arm bar. Sabre makes the ropes. Thatcher shouts at the crowd, giving Sabre some much needed breathing space and recovery time. Sabre attempts the O’Connor roll, but Thatcher escapes and locks the sleeper hold. He then transitions to the prawn hold for a near fall. Sabre kicks out and hits the penalty kick. He locks in the triangle choke, but Thatcher escapes. Thatcher hits the knee strike and locks Sabre in the sleeper. Sabre escapes and traps Thatcher in the octopus hold and beats Thatcher with elbows and kicks. Sabre traps Thatcher’s free arm and forces him to submit to win the championship, causing the crowd to erupt in celebration with one of the loudest cheers I’ve ever heard.

There was a sense of urgency in this match that was missing from other title defenses, and Thatcher actually showed some personality by smirking at the crowd and interacting with the audience, which is an advantage that professional wrestling has over other forms of performance.

Sabre jumped into the crowd to celebrate, and Thatcher pried the championship belt from Stokely Hathaway’s grip. Before Thatcher could hand Sabre the championship belt, Ethan Page attacked Sabre. Thatcher dropped the belt and walked away; ACH, the next challenger, forced Page to retreat. Sabre then cut his short promo about how wrestling and this planet is for everyone, shook hands with the roster, and left. Keith Lee was the last person to shake hands with Sabre, and they shared an intense staredown before Sabre went behind the curtain.

Sabre went to his merchandise table as I was on my way out of La Boom, and I wanted to tell him how entertaining his match was. More importantly, I wanted to tell him how proud I was that he believes that professional wrestling is an inclusive art form despite its dubious history of inclusiveness and sensitivity. I felt energized after the show; as much as Timothy Thatcher was key to my entry into Evolve, I feel that Sabre and Evolve’s burgeoning roster can continue to entertain me in some new ways. This was another Evolve show that is easy to recommend.

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wewerecore · 3 years

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Press release excerpt

"AUSTIN, Texas (March 2, 2021) – FloSports, a leading sports streaming and original content network, today announced it has received $2.8 million in new funding to accelerate the online sports network’s growth into new sports and expand its existing verticals. Financing was led by Hassan Yatim, President and COO of Yatco Energy and CEO of the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL), and his son, Jawad Yatim, President and General Manager of the Massachusetts Pirates. In addition to their investment, the Yatims have gained ownership of some IPs previously under the FloSports umbrella including the FloSlam vertical and its subsidiaries."

Yatco Presents

CORE Pro #102

They Shoot, We Score

04/11/21

American Postal Workers Union Hall - Tampa, Florida

01. The Vulture Squad (Jigsaw and Jack Evans) vs. Los Golpeadores (Dragon Bane and El Hijo de Canis Lupus)

02. JD Drake vs. Shane Taylor

03. The End (Odinson and Parrow) vs. The New Jersey All-Stars (Dan Champion and Lucky)

04. Laredo Kid vs. A Very Good Professional Wrestler

05. The Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson and Jaka) vs. FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson)

06. Lio Rush vs. Rich Swann

COal REgion Pro-Wrestling Health and Safety Protocols

- By attending the card, you acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions of the Liability Release Waiver, the Assumption Of Risk And Indemnity Agreement, and the Assumption Of Risk and Double Indemnity Agreement.

- A total of one hundred (100) tickets will be made available to the public. No tickets will be sold at the door. No physical tickets will be distributed to anyone. All ticket holders will be assigned a number and group letter.

- Only verified ticket holders will be permitted to gather in the SOCIALLY DISTANCED HOLDING PEN located in the American Postal Workers Union Hall parking lot. MASKS ARE REQUIRED. Ticket holders will then be placed into groups of ten (10) as determined by their group letter.

- The first group of ten (10) will be directed into AIRLOCK A. Once sealed into Airlock A, the tent will be filled with NON-FATAL LOW CONCENTRATION SANITIZING GAS. After thirty seconds, the group will be permitted entrance into the DELOUSING AREA.

- Once in the Delousing Area, ticket holders will be directed into their assigned individual HOLDING CELLS. Inside the cell, the ticket holders will be required to strip bare and place all their clothing, facial masks, shoes, and all other personal belongings into a labeled plastic bag. The bag will be sealed by the ticket holder and fed through a slot into a CONTAINMENT UNIT. The ticket holder will then put on their assigned MODESTY SMOCK, DISPOSABLE FOOT COVERS, and COMMEMORATIVE FACE MASK and exit the holding cell. Once the entire group is in their modesty smocks, foot covers, and commemorative face masks, the Delousing Area will be filled with a NON-FATAL MEDIUM CONCENTRATION SANITIZING GAS. After sixty (60) seconds, the group will be permitted entrance into AIRLOCK B.

- Once sealed in Airlock B, the group will be exposed to UV-C SANITIZING LAMPS for five (5) minutes. During this time, our staff will fully sanitize the previous staging areas to prepare for the next group. After five (5) minutes, the group will be permitted entrance into the venue.

- Your commemorative face mask is required at all times inside the venue, unless actively enjoying one of the many food and drink options available at our REFRESHMENT STAND. As all your belongings will be held in the containment unit for the duration of the event, all food/beverage and merchandise/autograph purchases will be charged directly to the same payment method used to buy your ticket. Hand sanitizing units will be stationed around the building. All personal belongings will be returned to you after exiting the venue.

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