The Wrestling Revolver
Once Upon A Time in Iowa
January 16, 2022
Horizon Events Center
Clive, Iowa
Watch: FITE
Speedball Mike Bailey def. Acey Romero
What seemed like a stylistic mismatch was actually a bloody great opener. The juxtaposition really worked, with Bailey zipping all over the ring and Acey, when he managed to catch him, bringing power moves like a pounce that sent Bailey flying high above the ring. Bailey won with the Ultima Weapon and it’s going to be fun seeing more of him on the US scene this year.
Impact has uploaded the full match for free to their YouTube and it’s well worth checking out. ***3/4
Masha Slamovich def. Billie Starks & Masha Slamovich
Billie Starks comes out to Blink 182. Pop Punk never really works for wrestling music, does it? Still, I was a big fan back in the day, so she’s over with me now. This was kinda vicious in places. Starks did a really nice dragon suplex bridge pin at one point only for Masha to pick up and try to use her as a blunt tool to excavate the ring canvas with a powerbomb. Short but did what it needed to. **1/2
Eddie Edwards and Chris Sabin def. Myron Reed and Warhorse
Eddie and Chris are known collectively as the “Motor City Wolf Guns”. Cute. Does that mean that a Davey Richard/Alex Shelley Team would be the American Machine Wolves?
I’d never seen Myron Reed or Warhorse before, but they were really impressive here. I’m vaguely aware that Warhorse has some popularity on the indie scene and I can see why; he’s like 60% Ultimate Warrior, 30% Headbanger and 10% Maki Itoh. Myron Reed also shows a lot of promise, although his ring gear, a grey bodysuit, doesn’t match his bombastic style. Put a few sequins on or something Myron. ***1/2
Sudden Death Scramble Match
Crash Jaxon def. Jaysin Strife, Dan The Dad, JJ Garrett, Cole Radrick, Kody Lane, Kevin Giza & Marcus Mathers
This is basically a clusterfuck match with everyone getting their shit in and a few moments to shine. With everyone moving constantly in and out of the ring, this was smooth and a good showcase for indie talent. Scott Steiner cosplayer JJ Garret was particularly impressive and Crash Jaxon moved very well for a man of his size. ***
1 Called Manders & Jake Manning def. Logan James & Tyler Matrix
This was no DQ and was mostly a typical plunder match. Manning did a nice top rope Nestea plunge while saluting and Manders did a cool one-on-two German suplex. I will give an extra half star for the finish which involved a top rope suplex onto a tent **1/2
Madman Fulton def. Ninja Mack
Like Speedball vs Acey, this was another visual mismatch, with Fulton towering over Ninja Mack and like the opener, was a treat. The story was Mack continually finding new ways to grab Fulton in a headlock, but in a more dynamic way than, say, Bret Hart at WrestleMania 12. This even included a suicide dive into a headlock at one point; would Randy Orton have approved? I have never seen Mack before so I have no idea if this is a usual thing he does, or whether it is something they just decided on for this match, either way, it was novel and elevated the match. Fulton even responded with his own holds and we got some ‘headlock city’ chants from the Iowa faithful. Good stuff. ***3/4
PWR Remix Title
Ace Austin (w/Gia Miller) (c) def. Andrew Everett, Blake Christian & Alex Zayne
Ace Austin and Alex Zayne are dangerously close to mutual gimmick infringement here as they are both sporting purple dye jobs. This felt a lot like an X Division match with lots of cool moves and flips everywhere, so worth a watch if that’s what you like. You can’t really go wrong with these four. ***1/4
Brian Cage def. JONAH
Live crowd were really into this and even broke out the ‘fight forever’ chant at one point. While this was a good match, with some spectacular big guys moves, it lacked the sort of intensity that JONAH brought to his match with Josh Alexander and Cage was content to cycle through his moveset, impressive though it is. The meta story was perhaps more interesting, as Cage, being an AEW guy, is a protected class on the indies while JONAH has links to NJPW and Impact. I almost wondered if they would go to a draw here. Cage picked up the win, but it was JONAH who was left in the ring at the end with the crowd chanting “please come back”. A sign of a guy who is on the up. ***1/2
Scaffold & Light Tubes Death Match
Alex Colon def. Jake Crist
Ok I’m not a deathmatch fan, so I couldn’t even tell you how this stacks up in relation to other deathmatches, but I think Jake is a very underrated all-rounder and he brought a bit of flair to this match from his previous incarnation as a high flyer. As a main event spectacle, it got the crowd going and featured two insane dives off the scaffold, the first being a crossbody from Crist and the second Colon delivering a very brutal death valley driver from the scaffold into the center of the ring. ***¾
Final Thoughts:
This was a very good offering from Revolver and had a bit of something for everyone. Also, the production was on point all night, from the camera quality, to the stage, the lighting, the commentary, even the quick setup of the scaffold in the main event. It’s easy to overlook production and just focus on the in-ring, but the high standards here really gave the whole product a polish that is often lacking in the indies (and even in the big leagues sometimes). Definitely an indie to keep an eye on.
