Thursday, September 16, 2021

Wrestling Review //
Pro Wrestling Magic
JGeorge's Cinematic Masterpiece
9/11/21
@ Knights Of Columbus, Ridgefield Park, NJ



When we were last at Pro Wrestling Magic live it was a special time because they had just began airing on IWTV and they had announced this show would be their live debut on IWTV as well.  Unfortunately, that meant watching the previously taped shows playing out over the months leading up to this and a decent amount of time away from the Magic Kingdom.    But Pro Wrestling Magic was determined to put on a show which would have the wrestling world talking and they did just that.

From what I gather, there were three matches which began at 5:30 and were taped for a later date, so the show started with a match at 6:30 between Jessie Nolan and Little Mean Kathleen.  I'm pretty sure that this match aired in real time on IWTV before going to a video package and then more matches at 7pm.  That's how I figured it based upon what was said before the match started and all.

Little Mean Kathleen is no stranger to Pro Wrestling Magic and Jessie Nolan was making her second appearance.  Jessie Nolan looks like a wrestler, has the music and comes out where she just presents herself as a wrestler and if you're on the other side of the ring from her that might not be where you want to be.   I feel like I've seen Little Mean Kathleen face a lot of opponents similar in size to her, but even though it felt like Jessie Nolan would have the advantage of power here, LMK has that tenacity which quite frankly frightens me.

So I'm going with- in my mind- that the first ever match that was live on IWTV for Pro Wrestling Magic was between Jessie Nolan and Little Mean Kathleen and that's pretty cool.  If this is not true, I will just refuse to hear it and whatever you have to do to see this match: do it.  I'm hoping to see both LMK and Jessie Nolan in title matches against Jordan Blade one day, but putting them against Erica Leigh is also something I believe the world of professional wrestling would enjoy.

Before the 7pm start time there were instructions given by Shane Fair and then music was played.   I've never been to a wrestling show before where it was their first time being live on IWTV (Though I have been to shows which were taped and became the IWTV debut of the promotion) so I'm not sure what other promotions have done before their first live show on IWTV *but* I can tell you that a lot of the people involved with making this show possible were spending the time leading up to it (minutes before) dancing around to Paramore, The Killers and other songs.  

I imagine a lot of people would be stressed out, nervous, anxious- a lot of the things which I would picture myself feeling.  But to see the cast and crew of Pro Wrestling Magic just having a blast and using this time like a party rather than to think "Oh no what if this goes wrong" was pretty neat.   I'm not sure any other promotion does this, but that's just another thing to add to that list of ways in which Pro Wrestling Magic stands out from the rest of the promotions out there.

During the Jessie Nolan-LMK match I was cheering for Jessie Nolan.  The crowd seemed split, but for the rest of the show I had in my mind who I was going to cheer and who I was going to boo.   That's just another little interesting piece of information which made the first match so special, because it was that feeling of the crowd being behind both wrestlers on some level and at the end of it as well.

I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be the one to decide a match order but opening with Smiley vs Sebastian Cage was a good starting point.  Both have been staples in PWM and it gives off that vibe of "If you watch this match and stick around, you'll be hooked on Magic".   Sebastian Cage had this great move he did running into the ring but at the end of the match, Smiley got the victory.   Smiley is just someone you always have to watch over your back to look out for and at some point I would imagine Smiley goes for the title again as well.

TJ Crawford was really over with the Magic Kingdom and why wouldn't he be.   The guy has been having instant classic matches all year long and when he doesn't do so as a singles wrestler he does so with Love, Doug as a tag team.  Azrieal is someone that the crowd booed and I stand by my belief that "Smooth" by Rob Thomas and Santana is a played out song.   Though TJ Crawford won this match, he was attacked by both Azrieal and Trey Felipe post match, which really makes me think that we could be close to Love, Doug coming to the Magic Kingdom.

In the # 1 Contender Match, we first had a fiveway that Daniel Garcia was pulled from (probably because of commitments to AEW, which is what it is) but then we were told before the match that MV Young was injured and wouldn't be there so it would be a threeway.   Erica Leigh came out and said she was a fighting Champion so she wanted to pick someone to put into the match and this lead to the PWM debut of Becca, who is everywhere these days and rightfully so.

This match was pretty crazy because there were four competitors in it and JGeorge felt like he was in it the least even though he won.  I've seen Ace Romero wrestle a lot but I don't think I'll ever get over how agile he is for his size.   I'll also never tire of seeing how far he yeets people when he hits that Pounce.   I really like the story this match told because it felt for quite some time like Becca would win it and the crowd was fully behind her.

Ace Romero was eventually distracted by Alec Price long enough for JGeorge to sneak in and get the win.  As Tony Deppen was leaving he asked "Did I win?"  I told him "Yes, come back in November and face Erica Leigh for the title", to which Tony Deppen said "She don't want the smoke".   Perhaps I am unintentionally starting a feud there, but what a match that would be.  

Also, let's think about this match and how you could say that Tony Deppen is representing ROH, while Ace Romero has been in Impact and then Becca holds titles all over MA.   JGeorge, of course, could be thought of as representing PWM, but just the way that you can take these successful wrestlers in other promotions and bring them all together in a # 1 Contender's Match just shows how great the state of professional wrestling is right now.

Last time Jess and I saw Lady Frost live was at Beyond and she legitimately hurt her ankle.  So when Jordan Blade was in her corner pre-match and Jess told her "She has a weak ankle!" Jordan Blade responded "Yeah she does".   When at the show live I can't hear commentary (but I will eventually watch it back to listen to them) but the idea that Lady Frost did injure her ankle recently and Jordan Blade is the taker of ankles made this match that much more compelling.

On a show with four huge title match, three of them were in a row and two of those titles changed hands.  This also meant that we were having back-to-back title changes, which was interesting in its own right.   I'm only making note of this because of how it played out with the live crowd.   I truly believe that the reaction of cheers and overall happiness that Everett Cross got when he became the new Dark Arts Champion was only met at the same level as Donovan becoming the new Junior Heavyweight Champion but Donovan got the boos.

To say the Magic Kingdom doesn't like Darius Carter is an understatement because they more than just don't like him and it's not just Pro Wrestling Magic-- it's everywhere that he goes! The title win of Everett Cross felt so huge because people not only love Everett Cross that much but because they despise Darius Carter equally.   This was how it felt with Saieve Al Sabah and Donovan because as much as people want to boo Donovan, we all also love Saieve Al Sabah that much.   Just a complete flip of emotions between those two title changes.

To see MSP vs American Murder Society was quite the match as they are both veteran teams in their own right and the style clash between the two just made for excellent in ring action.  What was more interesting than the match perhaps though was the aftermath.  Adam Payne (who had been on commentary) came in the ring to presumably attack MSP but then he was attacked himself by the duo.    Could MSP be in line for a Tag Team Title shot now?  And what does Wrecking Ball Legursky (the other half of the Tag Team Champions / Balls of Pain) think about all of this?

Erica Leigh and Killian McMurphy had a great match which was a truly fitting way to end their feud.   When Big Dust was ejected from ringside, I fully expected him to put on a hat and fake moustache and try to come back out.  But this was a match which I feel like Erica Leigh needed to shift into the next phase of her career, one in which she doesn't have to constantly feel like she's looking over her shoulder for Goons.   Killian McMurphy put on a great show but at the end of the night, Erica Leigh was just better.

Regardless of how you feel about JGeorge and whether or not you feel like he won that match and deserves a title shot against Erica Leigh, him coming out and laying her out after her match just throws all of that out the window because now the only thing that matters is seeing Erica Leigh kick JGeorge's ass.   I can't say what other matches will happen in November (There are no spoilers there) but MSP in a Tag Team Title match and possibly Jordan Blade vs LMK and a rematch between Donovan and Saieve Al Sabah all sound good to me.  Oh, and how about a fourway match to determine a number one contender to the Women's Championship?  That could be fun.

There was also an incident during this show which was struck from the replay (I feel like it'd be worse not to address it here, but I don't want anyone to feel like they have to relive it) and I said what I needed to say in regards to it on Twitter from a serious stand point, but in a serious and yet also storyline way that all could have perhaps been avoided with the simple help of The Meadowlands Monster.    So maybe one day we'll also see him back, fighting for the title that he never actually lost.

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