SPW Into the Mist Review
(Feature photo via SPW Facebook page)
Match Results
CK Vin defeated Blue Nova via pin
Sultan Singh & Prince Khaleed defeated Jang Kawi and Top Notch via pin
Alexis Lee defeated The Coloniser via pin
Team A.C.E defeated Trexxus and Aiden Rex via pin
Singapore Championship Match: Da Butcherman defeated Black Arrow and Destroyer Dharma to become the new champion
Team Mighty Dragon Family defeated Team GM via pin
Tajiri defeated The Statement Andruew Tang via pin
My review predictions: 3/7
(Another late review this time, will pull up my socks for 2020! Let’s go!)
CK Vin vs Blue Nova: Both run the ropes as Blue Nova goes for the offensive immediately with a rana. CK Vin fights back with a back body drop on the apron, and repeatedly tries to get Nova’s mask off. Nova’s tries a crossbody but CK Vin counters it into a fallaway slam. He follows with a powerslam follows for a two count. Nova counters CK Vin’s second attempt but gets this mask taken off! Nova fires up with a falcon arrow and goes for a 450. CK Vin counters but gets into a rollup for two. Nova dishes another enzuigiri follows and goes for another 450 attempt, but CK Vin pushes Ref Sodiq to the ropes, and hits a modified muscle buster to get the win. CK Vin defeats Blue Nova via pin [**]
A short match, but it tries to tell a story, and ends with the right winner. CK Vin’s ring work will get better with experience as he continues to be such a douchbag. As for Blue Nova, he is now kinda at a crossroads – with his mask off, what will be his next evolution?
Sultan Singh & Prince Khaleed vs Jang Kawi and Top Notch: Price Khaleed and Top Notch starts the match. Khaleed is rocking the Braun Strowman outfit, as he overpowers Top Notch easily. Jang Kawi tags in and overwhelms Khaleed with his speed. Sultan Singh tags in and they doubleteams Kawi. Vertical suplex on Kawi gets a two count. Singh puts walls of Jericho on Kawi but gets a rope break. Kawi fights back with a whisper-in-the-wind on both Singh and Khaleed. Top Notch tags in and runs wild on both of them, hits neckbreaker twice, and a nice looking bulldog on Khaleed. Both tags out, and Kawi puts the two out of the ring. Notch hits a crossbody and Kawi does a swanton on all three outside of the ring! Notch cutters Khaleed and setup Kawi for a coast-to-coast swanton. Singh lowblows Notch and hits an AA for two count. Kawi DDTs Singh and hit his 450 finisher. Khaleed knocks Kawi out with a punch and puts Notch in a head vice. Punch to Notch and Singh pins for the win. Sultan Singh & Prince Khaleed defeated Jang Kawi and Top Notch via pin [***]
It was a fun match, with a clear sense of who are the faces and heels. I thought all four played their roles really well, working at a fast pace and telling a simple story of speed vs power. Great debut by the trio (a re-debut for Singh I think) and a welcomed returning Jang Kawi. On a side note, I love Ref Ryan but he was absolutely shite here haha.
Alexis Lee vs The Coloniser: Alexis is out with Luna Inez. Coloniser heels it up by demanding Alexis to kneel before her, before putting her in a head lock. Shoulder block and clothesline follows, but Alexis replies with a rana. Coloniser gets out of the ring to leave, but Alexis gets her back, and wears Coloniser’s coat. She hits an atomic drop and back elbow for two. Coloniser counters Alexis’ rana into a sidewalk slam, before suplexing her for two. Scuffle between Inez and Toy Boy Mike, and Coloniser attempts to trick Ref Ryan with a metal tray. The match gets out of the ring with all four getting involved. Inez hits Coloniser with the tray while Ref Ryan is attending to Alexis. Alexis’ spears Coloniser, and the job is done. Alexis Lee defeated The Coloniser via pin [*1/2]
Even though the match was under 10 mins, it felt really long, as the shenanigans really dragged down the pace. For a big individual like Coloniser I was quite surprised she took quite a beating from Alexis, and was too chickenshit for my liking (trying to leave the ring after one rana). Overall it was quite clunky, and the foreigner takes another loss, which I thought it was a lost opportunity to establish her as a legitimate threat.
Aiden Rex vs Trexxus: Both wrestlers shake hands and start exchanging holds. Trexxus overpowers Aiden with a snapmare and headlock. Aiden counters with a series of submission holds. Trexxus goes for his powerbomb finisher but Aiden counters with a sunset flip. Rana from Aiden and the fight goes outside of the ring, before Team ACE appears to challenge the two.
Trexxus and Aiden Rex vs Team A.C.E.: Aiden Rex and SP starts by exchanging rapid counters between tagging their partners. LP’s holds are ineffective against mighty Trexxus but he goes for a dropkick and kicks to to his head, and ranas Aiden. Trexxus chops SP hard, but Aiden blind tags himself in and hits a standing moonsault. Paradise lock follows before Trexxus tags himself in and does his signature top rope elbow for a two count. Trexxus hits his suplex-front backpack stunner combination, but starts arguing with Aiden. SP hits a running knee and LP hot tags in, with a springboard forearm and a brainbuster on Aiden for two. Trexxus hits corner splashes for both. LP responds with a pele kick. Aiden hits slingblade and goes for a Tope Con Gilo but hits Trexxus instead! Aiden continues his attacks with locks and a shooting star press on LP but Trexxus has enough, giving Aiden a kick. Aiden is out as Trexxus tries for his powerbomb, but LP counters into a roll-up for the win! Team A.C.E defeated Trexxus and Aiden Rex via pin [***1/2]
It was a downer with the match change, but the tag match was well done with smooth action at a fast pace, while telling the story of egos clashing. Another great performance from Team A.C.E., although I still cannot get pass SP’s hilarious facial expressions. Team A.C.E. get a huge win, while the feud continues for Aiden and Trexxus.
Singapore Championship Match: Destroyer Dharma (c) vs Da Butcherman vs Black Arrow: Dharma dominates right off the bat and puts the challengers out of the ring. Back Arrow replies with a Tope Con Gilo, but Butcherman powerslams him onto the audience’s chairs (one was TOTALLY decimated, RIP). Dharma recovers and suplexes Butcherman at ringside, backbreaker and powerslam for two count. Arrow gets back into the ring with corner splash and bulldog on Dharma for two. Bucherman goes wild on Arrow and mandible claws him and then hits a knuckle-shuffle for two. Arrow replies with a crossbody on Dharma and rana on Bucherman. He then hits a top rope moonsault to outside of the ring! He hits a razors edge on the second attempt for two. Dharma dishes a World Strongest Slam on Arrow for two. Bucherman comes back with a Lou Thez press and knees. The challengers then team up to double-suplex the champion. Dharma then sidewalk slams both at the same time. He tries a chokeslam but Arrow counters with a back elbow. Butcherman pulls Dharma out of the ring and hits a spear and snap swinging neckbreaker to become new champion! Da Butcherman defeated Black Arrow and Destroyer Dharma [****]
Slightly formulatic, but the execution by the three was excellent. The three-man format allowed the pace to be fast, with everyone able to showcase and play their greatest hits. There was also an element of unpredictability as all three has the quality to be the champion, although I thought Dharma would retain it for a while more. Black Arrow had a great return, while Butcherman continues his rise in the local scene. Dharma losing his belt without getting pinned also setups a potential rematch. Great stuff.
Team Mighty Dragon Family vs Team GM: Hustler spits at Jack, who immediately clotheslines him for the pin to eliminate him. Judas comes in with strikes but Jack rock-bottoms him, and follows with double shoulder tackles with Mighty. The Misfits distract the ref as Black hits his flaming slap. Judas eliminates Jack. Mighty replies with a sidewalk slam, but the Misfits quickly isolate him in their corner, exchanging rapid tags. Teo Holmes tags in and hits weak-looking kicks, and gets a headbutt in return. Another ref distraction happens as the isolation continues, before Mighty fires up a double clothesline. Mighty’s suplex attempt fails as Judas hits a Russian leg sweep for two. The Misfits now attempt a suplex on Mighty but Mighty counters with a double suplex instead! Eurasian Dragon tags in and starts running wild. Teo Holmes disqualifies himself after attacking with a Kendo stick. Selene gets ejected by the ref as well. Mighty hits a strongest slam on Black, but GM Carl delivers a reverse neckbreaker for the pin. Only Eurasian Dragon left. The Misfits double teams on him, but miscommunication happens as Dragon schoolboys Judas for the elimination! Black goes for a tornado DDT for a two count but Dragon kills him with a German. Dragon and GM exchanges strikes, before the GM hits shining wizard. His leg drop misses, and Dragon replies with a neckbreaker and a Russian leg sweep. The armbar follows and GM taps out. Team Mighty Dragon Family defeated Team GM via pin [***]
An enjoyable match with the good guys winning, despite all the ref distractions and cheating from the bad guys, plus the returning Dragon got the win to the delight of the crowd. After a string of losses the Mighty Dragon Family has gotten back-to-back victories. I think it is time for the feud to take a break as I would like to see some fresh tag team match-ups with the appearance of Team A.C.E.
Tajiri vs The Statement Andruew Tang: The two starts with holds, with Tajiri getting the upper hand and slapping Statement’s butt a couple of times. Test of strength follows, and Statement gets himself into submission holds again. He goes for a counter pin but gets slaps and kicks from Tajiri. Tajiri shoulder tackles for two count and puts Statement in another headlock. Statement recovers and goes for a crossbody to outside of the ring. Both starts to exchange chops and kicks. Statement kicks out of multiple pin attempts and fires up with a wheelbarrow bulldog, top rope sitdown senton and codebreaker for two. He hits a brainbuster for another two. Both tease finishers, and Tajiri hits a brutal sitdown piledriver for two. Buzzsaw kick attempt fails and we get a ref bump. Statement goes for double knees but Tajiri pops him up for a mist attack to a big crowd pop. Buzzsaw kick connects and the match is done. Tajiri defeated The Statement Andruew Tang via pin [****]
A delightful match as we are treated to a slower, more methodical and psychological game from the two. Tajiri is great at being expressive through his movements without giving much facial expressions, toggling between serious and funny. It was an exhibition match, but I got an education from watching it.
Overall: Into the Mist was another good show, boosted by the return of Eurasian Dragon and Black Arrow. The ladies match was disappointing but the rest delivered, plus we got a title change. I really like the fact that this was truly an SPW show with just Tajiri being the guest star. A bigger local talent pool also allows some form of storytelling moving forward. An encouraging time for SPW moving into 2020.