This is the second of these articles, with the first one – a review of the PWA’s Shoots and Ladders available HERE.
For the record, I am choosing these shows at random. As long as they’re from the last 12 months, I hope to give a reflection of what the federation is about, and perhaps capture a bit of the energy and feel of the event, and the promotion.
Also for the record, I take these notes as I watch the show. I might go back and edit an obvious error, but I feel it is important to get the “gut feel” of the show, and reactions to events as they happen.
So, I was hoping to cover a Melbourne City Wrestling show in this instalment, but as I had a gander around the net, looking for a show from 2024, I was unable to locate one (legally), so I settled on another Victorian promotion – Renegades of Wrestling,
A quick bit of research indicated it had been around a couple of years, and was developing a good reputation in the wrestling community. I liked their logo, and when I saw some clips, I realise I recognised a couple of faces from years and years ago, so this was an easy sell.
Initially, I was not going to take recommendations for any promotions, but I have changed my mind. If there is a fed you think I’d enjoy, by all means, recommend away. From there, I’ll still pick a random show, as I don’t want to see the showcase shows if all the others are balls. Sound fair?
Righto, let’s jump into Renegades of Wrestling’s We Choose Violence from the Northcote Theatre on the 28th of July, 2024.
INTRO VIDEO – High quality stuff, here. Promotes the performers well and sets the table. Venue is small – I realise I have been here before to watch some Melbourne Comedy Festival stuff.
1 – SECURE YOUR FUTURE MATCH
CHASE TAYLOR V HECTOR JONES V SAM YANNIS V JXT
Jones has good intensity about him – this is put over by the commentators, but it is apparent in the way he goes about it.
Nice handprint left on the chest of Taylor from a Yannis chop.
Pretty quick match with all guys getting their stuff in, in a very short time. Without getting the stopwatch out, I reckon 6-7 minutes, which was a little rushed for four workers. Anyway, Sam pins Jones after a running knee, ala Daniel Bryan and now is able to get a title shot somewhere down the line… or something.
Truthfully, I would have picked Yannis as the least likely to win this, but I say that not being aware of much that’s occurred before.
1 – CHARLIE ROSE V TARLEE
Tarlee… sounds like subject matter for an 80s hairband ballad.
“Ooooh Tarlee… can you dance on the bonnet of my Chevy?”
Anyway, nice video package before the match to let us all know why this match is taking place – I appreciate the history lesson, as it is a good way to help those out who have wandered in for the first time, like myself.
Good pop for the ref – biggest one so far. They love this little bugger.
Great attack before the bell from Tarlee. Happens on the ramp, which conveys a sense of urgency and also demonstrates how eager Tarlee is to gain her revenge.
Really cool move from Rose, where she slides under Tarlee, who is on the ropes, and pulls her down behind her. It’s like a german suplex without having to lift her. I like it. For me, it’s an innovation, as I haven’t seen it done like that before.
Match ends with outside interference from Rose’s tag partner, Rochelle Rogue, and together they do this double team move where they basically sandwich Tarlee’s head between their asses/hips.
You use what god gave ya, I suppose..
The save is made by Katie Lux, who I saw on the PWA show I just reviewed. A little bit of a botch on a move as she cleans house, and then a brawl on the ramp as the heels have to retreat past the babyfaces.
Not the worst, not the best.
3 – CAVEMAN UGG V LEVI NIXON
Levi is getting to play the dream role, here – the cocky heel. There are so many workers who excel when they get to do this bit, and he is one of them.
Ugg is a monster – definitely suits the Caveman gimmick, and against the smaller opponent, is able to throw Nixon around.
Hmm, the ref is Dylan McKay, who has come a long way from his 90210 days, and the crowd seem to love giving it to him. He should turn heel – blame them for it, too.
Ugg’s pants look really itchy. If he was on a date, he could argue that they’re chaffing him more convincingly than Jimbo Jones.
What i’ve noticed thus far during this show is the lighting and camera work is far superior to the PWA show I watched. Just the way they cut to a shot of the ring that Levi wears, which is basically a “money in the bank” ring, is quite artistic. You get style points for that sort of stuff.
Low blow from Nixon – I am ALWAYS a fan of the heels using this tactic. Never fails to exact sympathy from the dudes in the crowd.
Then a 450 splash from Levi for a near fall. A frustrated Nixon then jaws with the crowd, insulting them, and hits the second rope for a moonsalt – Ugg catches him, drops him with a sit-out piledriver, and gets the win.
Intelligently, the commentators put it over as Levi costing himself by getting involved with the crowd. Smart.
4 – ‘THE ESHAY’ TYSON REED V KRACKERJAK – STREETFIGHT – (Chloe St Clair handcuffed at ringside)
Ahhhh Krackers… I remember you fondly. Haven’t changed a bit, which is great for me, but I wonder how you’ve been putting up with these types of matches for soooo long.
Krackers comes out with barbed wire around his arm, and he is already bleeding. Uh oh… bad move by Reed to accept this match.
Oh, and The Eshay gimmick… a ripper for a heel. No one with an IQ about 80 has any affection for Eshays. And the ones below 80 are usually Eshays. Hailing from Broadmeadows Station is a nice touch, too.
The bad move becomes a disastrous one as Krackejak starts stapling drawings of dicks to parts of his body. His arms get a nice dick pic each, and then he staples one to his forehead before producing a fork and using it to pick the staples out of Reed’s head.
Wow! Fucking nuts! And Krackers is basically commentating the entire sequence as he goes, too. Some thing never change.
Reed turns the tables as he hits Krackers with his bumbag… and it contains a brick.
Another great camera shot here – just brilliant – the fork that both men have used to gouge each other is laying on the mat. The camera shoots over the top of it, catching droplets of blood on the fork – this is masterful work. The give the bloke a raise!
Or at least start paying him.
Krackers drops Reed with a DVD Driver on four chairs.
They battle up the ramp and Reed suplexes Krackers onto a shopping trolley.
Reed them grabs some bolt cutters and cuts the cuffs off Chloe, who has a cane.
Classic Eshay line from Reed – “you got blood on my shoes!”
Chloe canes Krackerjak a few times before Reed takes a swig of his energy drink, goes to spit it in Krackers’ face, but he moves, Chloe cops it, and Krackers hits Reed with the Britney Spear through a board for the three count.
Excellent hardcore match.
A defeated Reed then grabs the mic and tells the crowd he is sick of waiting while the “legends” take the big matches and spots… something like that. It’s a bit weird, as he just wrestled one, and lost, so he had the chance to change that.
Another production note – the way the Renegades logo is used for replays – top notch. Really enjoying the production of Renegades – streets above PWA.
5 – MURDOCH V MITCH WATERMAN
Nice mask of Mitch Waterman – not sure it stops the spread of Covid, but apparently none of them do, anyway.
Good crazy eyes look from Murdoch. He does look like a bit of a pudgy bloke who I’d have to kick off the pool table in Brunswick
Have to admit – I wasn’t expecting much from Murdoch, but he is very sound. Some really nice sequences, and though I have heard of Waterman, I feel this is a chance for Murdoch to show what he can do, and he is taking it. His moonsalt is a belter!
Some more verbal ref beatdowns on Dylan McKay – “Is he old enough to buy Big M? Does he have his pen licence?” LOL.
Murdoch’s cannonball into the corner looks absolutely lethal, and he backs that up with a another, as he piggy-backs Waterman. Great spot.
Some really nice false comebacks from Waterman before he pulls off the real comeback, hits a frog splash, and it looks over, but Murdoch kicks out. He then cops an execution kick to the back of the head, and this time, it’s lights out for The Ambush member.
Nice win by Waterman, but Murdoch really looked good in this one., If the intent was to elevate him, mission accomplished.
6 – JAKE ANDREWARTHUR V THE MUSKETEER
So, I had a word to a friend last week, and the name of Andrewarthur was dropped – this was not what In was expecting.
He’d told me that he was a bit of a brute, but a very solid worker, so I was looking forward to seeing that aspect. I got something completely different, with Andrewarthur basically squashing this bloke, wearing the green and gold trunks, and adding “OLY” after his name, pretending to be an Olympian.
All about timing, I guess.
Anyway, a handshake into a great-looking headbutt and it’s all over. His opponent is unconscuious.
JA wins, drags his opponent onto a podium, presents him with a silver medal, then awards himself the gold and has the Australian National Anthem played.
Fun little match – Andrewarthur looked like he was really enjoying himself. Hope The Musketeer gets a leg-up from this and is able to build a career from here.
7 – EMMAN AZMAN AND AYSHA V FAMOUS B AND CATIE LUXE – If Famous B and Lux win, they will get title shots.
Famous B’s first ROW outing, apparently. Relatively high profile debut… The Musketeer would feel hard done by.
Emman refuses to square off against Luxe, stating “I don’t want to fight this bitch.” After a long pause, he adds “I want to fight that Famous Bitch!”
Took a while to get there due to the crowd reaction, but it he did it.
FB works in a shirt and tie, ala Curtis Hughes, which is a… thing.
Great line on commentary – “It’s famous B, not Famous C… my ex-wife was a famous C.” Have to admit, that got a decent chuckle from me.
Okay, the match – good heel mannerisms from both Aysha in preventing tags, running interference, and the cocky champion stuff Azman, including using a trip, then walking up the back of the fallen Famous B.
Built well, with the heels doing the whole “we’re so much better” schtick before the hot tag. Lots of back and forth before Emman hits a spinning DDT on Famous.
Massive swanton bomb from Famous, followed by a frog splash from Catie almost finishes it, but Aysha makes a good save.
Flash pinfall finish as Aysha tries a DDT but Catie catches her in a type of small package and gets the win.
Not bad for what it was, and Famous B did a good job endearing himself to the crowd as a new face.
8 – KENTA V GORE – DEFY World Title Match
Gore is a beast – looks like a bloke I’d cross the road to avoid, even without the mask. Beast of a bloke.
Calls himself the “Snuff King” and has “Snuff Daddy” on his tights. Big fan of those terrorist vieos, huh?
Anyway, the hardcores are rapt to see KENTA in person.
Gore demonstrates his power, and KENTA goes to the eyes on a couple of occasions after being unable to move the big guy.
It’s a bit of a classic big guy v small guy match up, with Gore catching KENTA by the throat a couple of times, KENTA using his guile to get the upper hand.
2x running knees from KENTA fail to get the job done, with the first seeing Gore kick out after one, but the GTS is too much for the big guy to take, and he takes the L as KENTA pins him.
After the match, KENTA invites Gore back in and gives him some respect. Gore returns the favour.
9 – GINO GAMBINO V LOCHY HENDRICKS (w/Sebastian Walker) – CAGE MATCH
I have a confession to make – when I saw Gambino was in the main event, I didn’t know what to think. You see, the last time I watched this bloke, he was being called “Mr Juicy”.
Then the ring announcer listed him as 105 kilograms and I actually wrote down “did he only have one foot on the scale?”
Well, just like Rocky Balboa taught the Russians, if I can change, and you can change, Gino Gambino can change, because the bloke was in excellent shape! Hats off to him – he has dropped a tonne of weight.
Anyway, prior to the match, a great little video package brought us all up to speed. Seriously, you have no idea how much this helps as someone jumping back in after a long time away. I had no idea Gambino is now held in such high regard. And if he isn’t, he was at least portrayed that way so well, that I believed he was
Onto the match – first big bump of the match sees Hendricks looking worse for wear, but the follow up, a powerbomb into the cage wall, sees him slide down the cage and open his back up. He’s got lines of blood down on his back now, and it’s gory… and wonderful at the same time.
Walker hands Hendricks a belt, but Gino exacerbates the wounds by whipping him.
Walker then send the crown into the ring, and Hendricks pastes Gambino with it. Deep cut, here – blood pouring out of his head. Very effective.
Gino looks farked, and that’s the whole point. Lochy is on the offensive until Gino turns the tables and opens him up, as well.
Hendricks’ is bleeding all over the place, like a tap on a steady drip and the camera work, once again, is excellent, catching the stream of blood from his head. I know I have banged on about the production, but this has been fantastic.
Hendricks drops his pants and rubs his ass in Gambino’s face!
Gambino hits a piledriver, but Dylan McKay is out of it and Walker enters the ring. Gambino hurls Hendricks into the corner and he spills out through the ropes, and out the door. That’s it… should be over. In my childhood trip to the US, I sat in the Nassau County Colisseum and saw Ricky Steamboat Beat Randy Savage the exact same way!
This time, there is no ref. Hendricks heads to the commentary table and screams he is the winner. They’re telling him to go back to the ring as there is no ref. Meanwhile, Gino is beating the shit out of Walker.
Hendricks climbs back into the cage, but Gino cvatches him with a superplex, and follows up with two piledrivers.
Gambino has destroyed him and goes for the door.
But hang… The Eshay is out here! Reed slams the door on Gambino’s head like he thinks he’s Kerry Von Erich, and Gino is done.
Walker slowly drags Hendricks to the door and pulls him out.
Hendricks wins!
Now Reed’s earlier promo makes sense!!!
Both guys looked absolutely done. There is blood everywhere. Hendricks is heaped up the ramp where he finally stands unassisted and lets out a guttural, maniacal scream of triumph.
In the ring, Gino unlaces his boots, places them in the middle of the ring, and leaves.
A fucking belter!
Everything about this match was done well. The reactions of the wrestlers, Sebastian Walker’s mannerism and the way he looked disgusted when he got blood on him… the tension, the bumps, the selling, the inadvertent blood (Hendricks’ back), the man-size blade jobs… the commentators calling for aid – everything was top notch, and all parties should be congratulated for putting together such a well-told story.
SHOW MVP
This is a tough one. I am sure many were there to see KENTA, and they got what they wanted, so maybe it was him. Not for me, though.
Gambino was excellent, especially when I remember what he once was.
Tyson Reed had the story come together for him in the main event.
And Lochy Hendricks both looked and acted the part in the main event.
I’m going to go with Hendricks. Bumped like a maniac for Gambino, took a heap of damage, and had that moment of unmitigated, maniacal joy to end the show. Nice work, Lochy.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT
Oh, it’s the cage match by a mile. Both guys did a tremendous job in terms of putting over the importance of this bout – the legacy of Gambino and the aspirations of the … errr.. Aspirationalist.
I’ve covered the details above, but this was an excellent cage match – one where the violence meant something and the cage environment actually enhanced the feel of it.
OVERALL RATING
I don’t do star ratings, but this show built really well – a very well-structured event. Started well and didn’t go over the top with the early matches, had the drawcard as the semi-main, and had a brilliant finale.
I kind of regret doing this show early in these pieces, as it may have spoilt me a bit.
WOULD I GO TO AN EVENT LIKE THIS?
Yeah, I would. I mean, if it were reasonable to do so in terms of travel time, etc… I would definitely go and see a show like this. Good to know, as I live in the city where this promotion is based.
ANY DRAWBACKS?
I’d be picking nits to cite any, really. Maybe the venue? It feels very small time, which I suppose is fine for a promotion finding its way. I am sure that with this calibre of show on a regular basis, the Renegades will have some larger shows in the near future. Hell, I haven’t even done enough half-ass research to discover whether they have had bigger shows in the past.
Again, if there is a promotion you’d like me to have a look at, let me know, and I’ll get to it. This one is a hard act to follow…