Wrestling Review // Tetsu Pro "Those Who Fight" November 5th, 2022 Bristol Sports Armory, Bristol CT

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One of the funny things about professional wrestling right now is that there are so many promotions out there you can practically go to shows every Friday/Saturday/Sunday within a reasonable driving distance and that makes me feel like we don't need new promotions.  And yet when I read about a new promotion and it sounds good I'm going all in on it.   Basically, my initial reaction to Tetsu Pro should've been "Ah, not another promotion!" because there are so many, but instead my mind went "Bristol isn't that far!"

Through social media (Thanks, Elon Musk!) I first saw the match graphic for Wrecking Ball Legursky vs Logan Black and thought how it felt like a hard-hitting type of match but also one that hadn't been done before- at least I hadn't seen it.  In some ways it feels like Wrecking Ball is wrestling on one side of a line and Logan Black was on the other side, so to bring them together to fight was just something I never thought about needing to see until I saw the graphic.  [Side Note: For all fairness, they do both frequent PVP]

After securing our front row tickets we made it to the place with time to spare and let me just say that I really enjoyed not only where this was in terms of being in Bristol but the way the venue looked inside.  It had these huge ceilings and just felt like a good place to see live wrestling.  It reminded me of a high school gym but on a much larger scale.  And there is a rather large parking lot near the venue as well, so that's always a plus because sometimes parking is an issue when going to shows so I like to know it's there (and free!)

When we checked in we got paper tickets which are always a nice keepsake.  They didn't put our names on the seats for pre-ordering front row, but there were enough seats that finding where we could sit in the best possible way was not difficult at all.  And Tetsu has a siz sided ring, which is something I've never seen in person before so that was also a lot of fun.  If nothing else, when people talk about Tetsu they can say "You know, the one with the six sided ring", but let's hope they become more than just that.

This show just had such solid matches advertised and throughout the night they just delivered as well.   The first match saw Hippy Dicky Moon vs Ryan Fraust vs Kwesi Asante.   Going into this match, Kwesi Asante was a mystery opponent and though the fans in attendance might not have known Kwesi Asante by name, they certainly learned about him by style.  It had been a while since we had seen Hippy Dicky Moon in a ring, so that was nice, and it's always great to see Ryan Fraust.

I really enjoyed seeing Kwesi Asante in this match though and he is certainly a wrestler to watch going forward.   He can move like a smaller wrestler- high that speed and the strikes like Nolo Kitano, for example- but then he also just has some size to him to where he can not only get up that speed to run but when he hits you with a cannonball it's going to be more impactful.  I haven't really seen a wrestler like Kwesi Asante before and he may be a once in a lifetime talent as well.   The future is wide open.

 

The second match of the night saw Chris Battle vs Bobby Ocean.  I've only ever seen Chris Battle wrestle once before (I think) but this match really impressed me.  The whole idea of the Battle Academy having this mentality of being submission specialists and picking a body part and wearing it down throughout the match- it just really works and Chris Battle just really made me a fan during this match.   Bobby Ocean, of course, went above and beyond what is expected as a wrestler, as always, because that's just what Bobby Ocean does.

The third match brought out the women as Evie De La Rosa took on Skylar Grey.  This match was a little confusing to me because Skylar Grey is with Battle Academy so should be playing the heel but got cheered because Evie De La Rosa is such a good heel.  All I'm going to say about this match is that at one point the ref did in fact count to three but said it was only two and that should've given Evie De La Rosa the win.    I'm not really a fan of either of these wrestlers, but I will admit that there was a three count there and even if it was a mistake they should've just gone with it. 

While it was only posted somewhere in writing but there was no match graphic, The Mission- aka Dan DeMan and Patrick Saint- came out for a tag team match, which lead a mystery opponent to be revealed as Andd Bivians, who has history with Dan DeMan in Team Shazaam.  This also lead to another wrestler coming out who I hadn't seen live before but was rather excited to see in Legit Perfect Perkins.   Da DeMan has rather large backup in Patrick Saint, but Legit Perfect Perkins is taller and I'd love to see these two big men go one on one.

It should also be noted that during this show there was a rowdy row in the back that kept yelling at everybody.  During this match, one of them threw a small bottle of alcohol (empty) into the ring and I'm not sure why no fan was kicked out after that.   In the conclusion of this match, Patrick Saint and Legit Perfect Perkins brawled off to the back and it looked like one of those fans might get involved but thankfully for them they did not.

This also left Dan DeMan and Andd Bivians alone in the ring together, which was nice because it felt like a fair way for them to settle their differences.   The Mission may not always seem clear, but it always brings out a lot of boos.

Prior to this show, I printed out a poster for the event in an 11x14 inches size and Quentin went around during intermission and after the show collecting autographs for it.  This venue had plenty of room for wrestlers to set up merch tables, they had snacks like chips and cupcakes, pizza and drinks (non-alcoholic) for sale and I always find it important to know whether or not a show will have food and I was happy (as was Quentin) that this one did.

After intermission we were right back to the action as Lucas Chase was taking on someone who looks a lot like him in Pedro Dones.  This was actually a really good technical wrestling match.  If you need to know anything about either of these two wrestlers- and you should have them on your radar if you don't already- then this is the match you should check out.   Between the power and technical aspects, this match had it all and also could've been the main event.

But that could be said for any of these last four matches.  Next up, Jordyn Rowe took on Sammy Diaz.   Quentin showed Jordyn Rowe a custom Snapple bottle we made for this show with him on it- because he is the Snapple God- and he was not impressed.  He threw the bottle down and that made it leak!   That might have also gotten into Rowe's head going into the match.

This match was really between two of the best wrestlers out there today (even if we boo Jordyn Rowe) and they just felt so evenly matched.  They have the mat game down, but also can take to the air.   This is definitely a match to go out of your way to see because it was two of the best doing what they do best.

Wrecking Ball Legursky was the match which got me interested in this show.  Logan Black will often times face opponents who aren't quite on that same level of him in terms of size and toughness, but it was definitely uncommon to see Logan Black as the smaller wrestler here against Wrecking Ball.  Both wrestlers had the crowd behind them and this was every bit as hard-hitting as you would've hoped for and more.

At one point, they brawled outside of the ring and Logan Black was thrown into a wall.  Logan Black also took a clothesline that was the hardest I've ever seen him get hit.  If you want to see two wrestlers having an absolute war, then this is the match for you- which should have also been made obvious by the wrestlers involved in it.

The main event put Troy Stevens against Sonny Kiss.  I had seen almost every wrestler on this show wandering around either before the show or during intermission, but I hadn't seen Sonny Kiss so there was that doubt of whether or not she was there.   When that music hit and she came out it was just magical.  

I will say that throughout this entire show the fans were just electric.  There just weren't any dull moments where it felt quiet like you could yell something and everyone would hear you.  But at the same time this was a certain type of crowd and while they were very much behind Troy Stevens they also didn't seem to know what to make of Sonny Kiss.   So, needless to say, Sonny Kiss was playing the role of heel in this match because Troy Stevens had his entire family there and older people are often times out of touch.

Troy Stevens put up a good effort during this match, for what it's worth, and proved that he can hold his own in the main event of a wrestling show.  But Sonny Kiss was also just really impressive and as much as it seemed like the crowd wanted to boo her at times there were times when they just couldn't because of moves like a superplex.   Those fans didn't have to cheer for Sonny Kiss, but after that match I certainly hope they at least respect her now.  

After the show Quentin somehow managed to get the rest of the autographs and thanks to all of the wrestlers for being so kind, he now has a poster signed by everyone on the first ever Tetsu Pro show.   This is something he'll cherish forever, I know, and even to look back a year from now and see it will be such a nice reminder of where it all started.  

Tetsu Pro announced they would return on February 18th, 2023 at the same venue and it definitely seems as if big things are in store.   As someone who drives usually at least an hour to see a good wrestling show, it pleases me that we now have a promotion that is just under a half an hour from us.  Instead of crossing state lines to get to another scene, now they can come to us and even if you don't believe me enough by 2/18/23 to show up you will see the vision eventually.