We were set for an incredibly strong episode tonight and despite Gallus Gallus-ing up the card and weighing their 6 man match down we still got one of the better episodes in recent memory. I expect next week’s to be nearly as good with the reveal of Satomura v. Dawn 2 in a Japanese Street Fight (I wish location based Street Fights actually had rule tweaks associated with them or happened in those actual streets to justify the names more) and Smith & Carter v. Starz & Matiff in the Tag Ttie #1 Contender Finals but let’s not gloss over this week and get to the rankings!
Honorable Mention: Nathan Frazer. He was asked about his match with Walter and said he was proud of his performance despite the loss because nobody thought he was worthy of even sharing a ring with WALTER. Die Famile came in celebrating and telling him it was their locker room and Frazer told Dempsey what we all know; Die Famile aren’t really family, they’re just using Dempsey. Dempsey looked as somehow both angry but apathetic as ever while his teammates partied. Assuming this leads to Frazer v. Dempsey give them a whole hour and let them make magic! They’re the 2nd and 3rd best in-ring guys left on this brand but #1 and #2 as far as potential in my book.
5. Teoman & Rohan Raja. They’re in Die Famile and they were on the winning side tonight but it is clear neither of them are Charlie Dempsey. They’re just riding the coattails of the next great one.
4. Jinny. The Fashionista had to put her money where her mouth was (not literally, Sha Samuels wasn’t around) when she clashed with Amale. Amale was set to get the win with the Hope Breaker but Jinny got out and managed to get a dirty win by putting her feet on the ropes in the corner for the 3 count. Jinny likes to tout how similar her an Amale are being the children of immigrants but commentary reminded us that while that is true Jinny has contacts and doors opened for her that Amale never did. Considering Jinny took a short cut here I expect this to continue and I don’t mind if it does.
3. Jordan Devlin. I was not a huge fan of Devlin’s initial Cruiserweight Championship win or run. He’s somebody whose matches tended to fall flat for me. But he has really picked it up lately and this match was a blast. Devlin used everything available to him; low-blows, tying Dragunov up in the ropes, tables, chairs, stairs and he even tried to use a screwdriver but none were enough to dethrone the champ and add another belt to Devlin’s mantle. He attacked Ilja with a cheap shot during the intros and didn’t let up from there. After Ilja sent him in to a fully packed table and tried for a Torpedo Moscow Devlin managed to collapse out of the way sending Ilja crashing through the table. Devlin then smashed Ilja between 2 crates and hit a moonsault off the top of the largee crate. Devlin tried to end not just Ilja’s reign but career when he zip tied his hands and tried a conchairto on the steps but Ilja escaped and landed the Torpedo Moscow for the win. The empty arena setting gave these 2 a lot of freedom and room to work and they delivered with it. Devlin also did a good job using the silence as a chance to taunt Dragunov and both of their shots sounded so much more harsh without the crowd noise on top of them. Go out of your way to see this match.
2. Charlie Dempsey. Gallus was up to their old Gallus ways tonight but ole Chucky Subs and his Famile members used their big brains to pick up the win. Gallus were underhanded deviants again and nailed a high/low but couldn’t get the win. They sent Dempsey into Wolfgang and tried to hit a double team on Chuck Demps but Raja pulled one of the Coffey’s from the ring allowing Teoman to clip the leg of Wolfgang with the ref distracted so Dempsey could lock in an STF and get Wolfgang to tap out. Gallus has GBOT on their trunks and they think it stands for “Gallus Boys On Top” but we all know it stands “Gallus Boys Only Tap” Dempsey has now made Joe Coffey pass out and Wolfgang tap out. Hopefully he can knock Mark Coffey out and complete the trifecta and maybe break-up Gallus for good so Wolfgang can better utilize his talents with people more virtuous and educated than the Coffey brothers.
1. Ilja Dragunov. I’m not sure if Unbesiegbar could have a great match with a broom but he can have one with his hands tied behind his back. And that was how he retained his title, nailing a Torpedo Moscow with his hands zip tied behind his back for the 3. Unsurprisingly this was another phenomenal outing from Ilja but in both a literal and figurative different environment than we’re used to him operating in. Normally Dragunov has bell to bell in-ring classics but this was a brutal brawl all around an empty arena. He withstood blow after blow to his arm and eye and eventually overcame it all to stand tall and leave with a 3rd successful title defense to his name. Whenever you ask about the best bell to bell guy in wrestling you’ll probably hear Omega or Danielson. You might get Okada, Ospreay, Cole, Gargano or even Reigns depending on what their favorite promotion is. But it’s time for us to start putting Dragunov on that list.
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