Wrestling Preview //
Pizza Party Pro
"Pop! Pop!"
December 29th, 2022
The Wrestival / Worcester MA



Much like they did last year, Pizza Party Pro will kick off The Wrestival in Worcester, MA on Thursday, December 29th at 3pm.   It always feels like such a treat to see Pizza Party Pro because they don't run every month but they have this mix of wrestlers I really enjoy.  Living in CT, you find out that New England is very much divided in wrestling as there are "MA wrestlers" and "NJ wrestlers".   

If you want to see EFFY or Darius Carter you get on 15 South and go to NJ.   If you want to see Ted Goodz or Channing Thomas you get on the Mass Pike and head up near Boston somewhere.   But Pizza Party Pro, to their credit, seems to care not about this idea of divide and instead just puts wrestlers together in matches that make you feel like you've reached some sort of middle ground, even if it doesn't feel like a MA vs NJ show.  

To kick off something as big as The Wrestival, you must do so with matches that are going to not only stand out but just make an impression right away.   The advantage to going on first is that you can then sit back and say "Top that" to everyone else.  And while this might not be the show full of "big names as seen on AEW Dark", it is the wrestling show that has perhaps the best matches that might truly impress you if you give it a shot.  



Big Game Leroy vs Shea McCoy vs King Crab vs Kidd Magic vs Big Dan Champion vs Pancakes vs Bobby Orlando (Floor Is Lava Match)

Some of my favorite wrestlers are in this match and then there is also Big Dan.   In terms of Floor Is Lava being a game, the advantage here might go to Big Game Leroy, who is most familiar with them.  I'd think Big Dan Champion does have an advantage though because he is the biggest and should be able to eliminate his smaller opponents.  However, if everyone got on the same page, Big Dan might be the first one out into the lava.

This really feels like it could be anyone's match but all I know is Crabs don't like lava, Quentin has vowed to help keep Pancakes in this match and I'm not leaving until Shea McCoy does "two for flinching" on someone.



Karen Bam Bam vs Austin Luke

Before this match was announced, I was thinking about the wrestlers who Pizza Party Pro usually books that weren't yet on the card.  Karen Bam Bam and Austin Luke are two of my favorite wrestlers, so these two names did come to mind I just never imagined they'd be facing each other.  This is that type of match that I never knew I needed to see it until it was announced and it could quite possibly end up being the single best match of all of The Wrestival, which is really saying a lot when you look over the whole card.

Karen Bam Bam and Austin Luke have different styles, but that technical/striking side of Austin Luke it what it's going to take to try and wear Karen Bam Bam down and get the win.  Karen Bam Bam, however, is just going to look to do what she does best and that's shine like the star that she is.   This feels like a somewhat important match- as a lot of matches on The Wrestival do- because it can just set your tone for 2023.  And both of these wrestlers should be looking to go into the New Year on a win.



Marcus Mathers vs Jordan Blade

Every time I see Marcus Mathers in a match I feel like I'm thinking in my head "C'mon, kid, make me a fan".   Mathers is undoubtedly one of the hottest rising stars coming out of H2O and he seems to be all some people can talk about.  But I just haven't seen that match yet that makes me buy into all of the hype.  

And you know?  Being complete honest and transparent: I don't think this is going to be the match that does it either.   Because I don't see this match being very competitive.  I see Marcus Mathers as being in way over his head here with Jordan Blade and it's not a matter of if Jordan Blade can snap that ankle but rather a matter of when.

This is going to be a fun match for me because I haven't seen Jordan Blade in a little while.  But all of those fans out there with IWTV who watch H2O and watch even Wrestling Open when Marcus Mathers is on it and see him as this young prodigy... Well, you're about to be introduced (or re-introduced) to Jordan Blade and this match is going to make a strong fucking statement.



Brother Greatness vs Eel O'Neal

One of the biggest things I keep thinking about so many matches on The Wrestival is that "Worcester hasn't seen anything like this before".   And while Brother Greatness is a part of Wrestling Open nearly every week, the Brother Greatness who is going to be in this wrestling match against Eel O'Neal is not the same person.  Well, okay, he is the same person but he's going to be allowed to go places which Wrestling Open won't let him.  If you're watching this show as a regular viewer of Wrestling Open, you're going to think "I didn't know Brother Greatness could do that!"

And then you have Eel O'Neal on the other side of that ring.  Eel O'Neal is undoubtedly one of the most improved wrestlers of 2022 (which is saying a lot because he was pretty great before that) and he is just looking to go on an absolute tear in 2023.  If you're looking for a list of wrestlers that are up now, Eel O'Neal best be on it.

This is that type of match people are going to talk about long after it happens.   Both of these wrestlers just compliment each other so well.  They have similar, mat based wrestling skills and also just feel like they have something to prove.   This is going to be a great match.



Boar + Dan Barry w/ Erica Leigh vs The Goons w/ Big Dust

I'm going to chalk this up to being part of The Mandela Effect (or me just not being able to read properly) because I thought this match was Boar/Dan Barry/Erica Leigh vs Killian McMurphy/Robb Radke/Myles Millenium and as it turns out that is just not the case and Myles has never been a part of this match.   To be fair though, there is always a lot of wrestling going on so I'm often confused about the cards and adding all of the various Wrestival matches into the mix just makes it that much more confusing.

Even though Dan Barry makes the roads, I feel like this is a solid NJ match.  But if you watch IWTV, YouTube, etc you can follow along even without having to drive to NJ and see how this whole feud has played out across several promotions down there, some of which are having their own little weekend party at the Ridgefield Park KOC.    And I will never understand why it's like "You're a NJ wrestler!" and so someone such as Killian McMurphy doesn't make their way up here (to MA/CT) as often as they should, but such is wrestling right?

Erica Leigh is currently under the guise of Officer Leigh.  Dan Barry used to be a cop (don't ask him about it)  And Boar, well, to make a cop joke there seems like low hanging fruit, right?  Together, this tag team will try to stop the team of Killian McMurphy and Robb Radke, who both love the devil's lettuce.  While I know that marijuana is legal in MA, a quick Google search shows it is also legal in NJ so I'm not sure what's happening here within the law but I expect at least one Judge Dredd reference for someone to say "I am the law" and a lot of other shenanigans.



Tony Deppen vs Weber Hatfield

In that genre of matches I love to see but never knew I needed, we have Tony Deppen and Weber Hatfield colliding.   Both of these wrestlers are quick, but use their whole body as a weapon so them colliding here is going to look like a car crash.    Ever since The Wrestival last year, it feels like Weber Hatfield really has something to prove now.  At the same time, Tony Deppen has seemed like that his entire career.

Much of this show "Pop! Pop!" is matches where two of the best at what they do meet inside the ring and this is no exception.   It's somewhat cheesy to say that this is a card full of dream matches, but considering how many of these matches feel like dream matches to me it's still pretty accurate.   This is going to be, as the kids say, a banger.



LuFisto vs Kennedi Copeland

What I love about this match is that LuFisto is wrestling royalty while Kennedi Copeland feels like someone out to prove they belong here still.   Kennedi Copeland has many accolades to celebrate, don't get me wrong, but it just feels like a win over LuFisto would push her to that next level of wrestling where she goes from opening the show against unknown wrestlers to main eventing the whole damn thing.

But let's not forget that the wrestling world was taking off around the time of the pandemic in 2020 and as such LuFisto really felt like she was watching a lot of it from Canada, not able to partake because of border restrictions.   Now it feels like every time LuFisto comes to the states for a match it's with such intent that you don't want to get in her way.  

Very few matches throughout The Wrestival will be as important to women's wrestling as this match will be, but also very few matches will be as important to all of professional wrestling.  


Tickets and more infomation for "Pop! Pop!" can be found here :::

https://shopiwtv.com/collections/tickets/products/pizza-party-wrestling-wrestival-tickets-12-29-22-at-3pm-worcester-ma

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts