Wrestling Review // Pro Wrestling GRIND Antisocial 4/29/22 Easthampton, MA

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We have almost reached that point where we're only going to one wrestling show per month and that show is GRIND, but perhaps by the time Quentin is out of school that will change.  One of the fun things about going to the Pulaski Club in Easthampton, MA is that before the show starts we stop off at the Holyoke Mall for food.  Much to our surprise, the McDonald's in the food court was gone.   Not sure how that happened but we ended up having pizza. 

At the last GRIND show we got a flyer for "Antisocial" which just looked so cool (it's the main image up top of this review) that I wanted to bring it back with us and get it signed by at least the wrestlers who appear on it.   Shortly before this show though, it was announced on Twitter that fans who pre-ordered front row seats would get a roster page and when I showed Quentin he agreed he would try and get everyone to sign it.

When we got into the Pulaski Club with Tim we were able to find Kevin Ku and he was the first to sign the roster page.  Before the show started Quentin had about seven signatures out of the eighteen wrestlers who were on there.    Looking at who had merch out though, it felt like we might be able to get them all.

"Antisocial" opened with Logan Black taking on his student Joseph Alexander.   I'd not seen Joseph Alexander wrestle live before but knew about him so this match was exciting for me, with it feeling like Joseph Alexander was being thrown right into the fire against Logan Black.  The power and violence of Joseph Alexander comes from the fact that he can just hit you from any angle with a suplex that will just rock you.  Alexander held his own in this match with Logan Black, sometimes taking it to his teacher, and that really says a lot.  I'd like to see Joseph Alexander back against Brandon Williams, Matt Makowski and Jay Freddie.

Up next was the redemption story of Myung Jae Lee taking on Cabana Man Dan, both of whom were at 0-1 in GRIND.   These two really felt evenly matched with quickness and strikes.  It was the type of match that could have gone either way and it just lived up to that idea that all it takes is three seconds.  I immediately wanted to see this match again because it feels impossible to grow tired of watching these two fight so why not against each other.

Perry Von Vicious vs Jay Freddie is that type of match where people out there still might not know either of these names but to me they are two of the best out there right now and this was just like a car crash but with trucks colliding instead of smaller cars.   Jay Freddie is always ready to go and he can take an unbelievable amount of punishment, and yet the same can be said for Perry Von Vicious.   If I'm watching this one back as a promoter, these are both wrestlers I would want on my show.

Speaking of being booked everywhere, Delmi Exo vs Anthony Greene was up next and the these two should be wrestling all over the world, even if not against each other.  One thing I feel like needs to be said is that Anthony Greene comes out looking like he's having a good time and just maybe it's the way he dresses or he seems more like he's entertaining than other wrestlers, but he is still tough as hell.  You could put AG in MMA gear and what happens inside of that ring doesn't change.

This was the first intergender wrestling match in GRIND history, which is good because I feel like wrestlers should be able to wrestle other wrestlers regardless of gender.  Delmi Exo is one of the toughest wrestlers out there right now and I think this really showcased that as she took everything that AG dished out and fought back twice as hard.   There is going to come a day soon when GRIND crowns their first Champion and I'm inclined to believe that Delmi Exo is an excellent candidate for winning that honor.

During intermission a lot more wrestlers came out and I was talking to some of them while Quentin was going around getting autographs.  At one point, The Work Horsemen came up behind me and I thought JD Drake was about to end my life because that man scares me.  After intermission, we had only five wrestlers left to sign the roster page and I really felt like we were going to do it, even though the signatures we needed were of wrestlers not yet seen.

We came back from intermission and went into one of the most intriguing matches on paper for this show: Channing Thomas vs Ryan Mooney.  There really is no way to compare this with other wrestlers from the past.  Channing Thomas has that Ric Flair/Rick Martel thing going on, but during this match he was just overpowering Ryan Mooney, picking him up and slamming him down.   This match really helped show why Channing Thomas is such a valuable part of the GRIND roster.  

On top of that you have Ryan Mooney who is like no other wrestler out there, just in a league all his own.    After an absolute war with Gary Jay last month, Ryan Mooney came into this match with something to prove and prove it he did.  This wasn't the same kind of war that Mooney had with Gary Jay, but it certainly left both of these wrestlers looking tougher coming out of it and something I didn't think about while watching the match but realized only now: this is the future of professional wrestling right here and it looks so good.

The Work Horsemen vs The Saito Bros was up next but it was a candidate to be the main event.  I had said to Tim before the show started that I thought Delmi vs AG would main event, but when it didn't I thought of this tag team match.  So you have two of the toughest wrestlers out there right now individually in JD Drake and Anthony Henry and they just work so well together as a tag team.  But then they're facing two big twins who have speed on their side as well and this was just one of the single best tag team matches I have ever seen.

I'm going to be sad when the Saito Bros go back to Japan because even if they face all of the opponents I want to see them face here I'm going to want to see them go back and do the matches again.   JD Drake was talking before the match and the ref was trying to get control.  JD Drake said something like "I can talk if I want to" so I told the ref to let JD Drake do what he wants.  JD Drake pointed at me and said "I like that guy".   Anthony Henry is also the most criminally underrated wrestler out there right now.  How are companies not just lining up to build a promotion around him?

This brought us to Travis Huckabee vs Mike Skyros.  The first time I saw the GRIND ring I immediately thought how perfect it would be for Mike Skyros and I was right.  After this match, I think a lot more people are going to be taking notice of Mike Skyros and what he can do inside of that ring.   Like him or not, Travis Huckabee is simply one of the best technical wrestlers out there today, so for anyone to go toe-to-toe with him the way that Mike Skyros did is just proof that Skyros belongs inside of that GRIND ring.   

In the main event, Rip Byson and Kevin Ku just beat the absolute shit out of each other.  I've seen more Kevin Ku matches than I can remember, and that includes singles matches because I've primarily known him as a tag team wrestler, but this is by far my favorite Kevin Ku match to date.  These two just... every time you thought "That's gotta be it, he's gotta be done" the match would just keep going by sheer will power.   Rip Byson is really just having such a great year thus far and I'm glad other promotions are also beginning to take notice of it as well.

After the show, Quentin managed to get the remaining autographs that he needed for the roster poster.   Doing this throughout the show just felt like it gave Quentin something to do when there wasn't wrestling to watch but also it provides a great sense of accomplishment by completing it.  This is also something that Quentin will now remember forever because he can think back to how not only did he see these wrestlers in action but he asked each of them to sign this poster for him.   It truly is something special, but so is everything that GRIND is doing right now.