TJP VS. NOAM DAR
TJP asks if we actually admit we’re from here or just say we’re from Philly. We’re as close to New York as we are to Philly. It’s good heel work. TJP seems to be really overselling Dar’s strikes, but it’s fine because it’s very entertaining to me. Quality mat wrestling that’s not as entertaining as TJP flipping over from a punch.
TJP has a lot of really good submission maneuvers to go along with his high-flying ability, which makes him a very dangerous wrestler. He punishes Dar’s limbs throughout the match, and it’s doing a good job leading up to what I’m sure will be a furious comeback by Dar.
It’s not really a furious comeback but more of a slow and steady one. A fast-paced comeback would have served the match better because the crowd seems to be out of it due to the slow tempo. TJP continues to attack Dar’s knee until he locks in the knee bar and Dar taps out almost immediately. Dar didn’t get much in here and it was a pretty slow and methodical dismantling by TJP. It was decent storytelling but the match itself got boring.
Match Rating: Three Gold Medals
DANNY GARCIA VS. DREW GULAK W/THE BRIAN KENDRICK & JACK GALLAGHER
Gulak is gonna take this jobber to school. That didn’t take long. Gu-Lock took about 30 seconds. Jobber out. I like matches like this sometimes to showcase how dangerous someone like Gulak is.
Match Rating: Five Gold Medals
Really good heel promo afterwards by Gulak.
Promo Rating: Seven Roddy Pipers
Tony Nese challenges Kalisto next week. That will be good.
LIO RUSH VS. AKIRA TOZAWA
There’s been a short build to this match, and I’m not really sure who’s going to win. Rush just debuted but Tozawa has been getting a push. My gut says Rush needs the win more, but they may want to trade wins and keep this feud going beyond one match. Regardless of who wins, this should be a hell of a match. After an early feeling out period, Rush knocks Tozawa off the apron and takes over the match. Rather than keeping the speed up, Rush slows the match down and talks shit while kicking a downed Tozawa.
Tozawa shows his feet are as fast if not faster than Rush’s hands during an entertaining exchange in the middle of the ring. Tozawa lands an awesome dropkick from the top rope for a two count. He hits a brutal German suplex and goes to the top for his Senton finisher, but Rush rolls out of the ring. Rush cowers a lot in rather than counter, which seems to frustrate Tozawa. Tozawa goes up top again but Rush knocks him off the turnbuckle, then hits his frog spash for the win. It was more of a technical match than the speed match I thought it would be but it certainly had a lot of entertaining moments, and we did see the speed and athleticism of both men. Big win for Rush.
Match Rating: Seven Gold Medals
Drake Maverick announces a fatal four-way number one contender match next week between Drew Gulak, Hideo Itami, TJP, and Mustafa Ali. My money is on Gulak winning that one.
Overall Show Rating: Five Gold Medals
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