SPW Oriental Storm Review
(Feature photo via SPW Facebook page)
Match Results
Social Misfits defeated Mighty Mighty & Big Good Jack via pin
Alex Cuevas defeated El Lindaman via pin
Team A.C.E. defeated Blue Nova and CK Vin via pin
Reika Saiki defeated Alexis Lee via pin
CIMA defeated Trexxus via pinFatal Four Way Triple Threat Singapore Championship match: Destroyer Dharma defeated Aiden Rex and Butcherman via pin
T-Hawk defeated The Statement Andruew Tang via pin
My review predictions: 5/6
(Apologies guys, as my notes taken during the show were not saved onto my phone —feeling real gutted. So for this review I will just post my thoughts from pure memory. A mental note to save my notes intermittently in the future.)
Social Misfits defeated Mighty Mighty & Big Good Jack via pin [***]
This had a simple but effective layout, with the Misfits working in tandem to consistently isolate the two remaining members of the Mighty Dragon family. Finally a win for them, this was probably the best Social Misfits match so far, with a much smoother flow, and a more balanced ratio of wrestling and dirty tactics. Mighty Mighty and Big Good Jack continues their slump, but the post-match promo by Mighty Mighty seems to indicate a stipulated match between him and GM, likely for his career vs reinstatement of Eurasian Dragon. The feud continues.
Alex Cuevas defeated El Lindaman via pin [***]
It took a while for the crowd to warm up when they were exchanging technical holds, but they quickly shifted into top gear with frantic technical wrestling and suplexes to get the crowd behind them. It was a good match, but the exhibition match gave a low-stakes kinda vibe that prevented it from going into a higher level.
Team A.C.E. defeated Blue Nova and CK Vin via pin [***]
(Side note: I didn’t recall them announcing the names of Team A.C.E, so in my notes I named them as Long Pants and Short Pants.) While Team A.C.E still needs to work on their charisma, I thought it was a fantastic debut for them, keeping in their nerves and executing their moves well. With Dr Gore out, A.C.E will be a welcome addition to the tag team division. While Blue Nova was seemingly there to be a guiding hand, CK Vin (is it his debut match as well? I don’t recall seeing him in an SPW match before) showed great potential —his macho/strongman character just oozes natural heel heat.
Reika Saiki defeated Alexis Lee via pin [**]
While the moves were executed competently, I thought the match layout to have Alexis dominated the match was wrong, as the crowd never truly believed that, resulting in a lukewarm reaction throughout the match. As I’ve mentioned before, Alexis works best as an underdog, which ties into her real life story. Reika tried to sell a story of overcoming the odds to win, but it was never believable when her biceps are larger than most local guys here.
CIMA defeated Trexxus via pin [****]
Even though they had a SNAFU with the middle rope, it was a great match given the circumstances. Both wrestlers had chemistry and shined, with CIMA improvising to get the crowd entertained, no doubt due to his vast experience, while I really loved how Trexxus sold the knee injury, to the extend I thought he really injured it. I also wanted to emphasis that the fact that CIMA has had great singles matches here, with both Statement and Trexxus, really tells you the high level of wrestling these two local boys are in right now. My match of the show.
Triple Threat Singapore Championship match: Destroyer Dharma defeated Aiden Rex and Butcherman via pin [***]
It was a pity Arsenal Affi was not able to build on this championship win, as GM Carl stripped him of the title for the no-show. When the middle rope snapped in the earlier match, I immediately knew Butcherman was not able to do his great slingshot spear. The middle rope issue also resulted in some momentum problems, as Aiden needed extra care whenever he needs to go for this high flying maneuvers. Overall it was a good match following a standard triple threat formula, but the quick turnovers kept the unpredictable as to who the winner will be. All three put in a good shift, as Destroyer Dharma wins his first singles title, continuing his ascension in SPW.
T-Hawk defeated The Statement Andruew Tang [***]
This match will be burned into the memories of SPW fans for a long time, purely for the insane number of brutal knife edge chops Statement received from T-Hawk. Truly madness. The downside of it was that it was relatively low on wrestling moves that peppered between those chops, with Statement limited to just his signature moves —at times it felt like a near-squash akin to the Brock-Cena Summerslam 2014 match. The crowd was really entertained, but definitely not Statement’s best match.
Overall: Even though the show was ‘jinxed’ with lotsa technical SNAFUs (AV issue resulting in the need for an intermission, middle rope snapped, stage prop toppling), all matches delivered in their own ways, from furthering story-lines (Might Dragon Family and that conniving GM Carl) to promising debuts (Team A.C.E and CK Vin?) to Dharma’s continued rise. Also not forgetting Strong Hearts gracing us with their appearance. An improved show compared to the previous show, Atonement, and will forever be remembered for two things: the middle rope and the chops.