Well, I had never heard anything about New England Championship Wrestling before finding their on-line show earlier this week (which you can download at www.necw.tv). I'm probably going to be utterly confused watching, but hopefully, it keeps me entertained for thirty minutes. They show what must be their opening video (which is good considering the production values) and we go into it, I guess.
Six Man Tag Team Match
D-Unit Vs. RAVE & Evan Always
I try and keep an open mind about tag team matches since I don't particularly like them myself, but this one was just bad. It had a promising opening though and I rather enjoyed watching the face team go right for a body part in the arm of Doug Summers. It was good, but as soon as Zack Statick got taken down, Summers acted like his arm had nothing wrong with it. Obviously if you're going to stop working a body-part, the victim is eventually going to stop feeling the effects of the attacks, but after 30 seconds? Hell, no. From here, Zack Statick played the face-in-peril while the heels tried to work over the back. Jeez, the back working was pathetic. Not in the sense that they barely worked it or that Statick no-sold it, but in the clear sense that the back working was loosely comprised of punches and fist drops to the back. There are a ton of basic moves you could have substituted and it would have made it seem way more believable. Eventually, after a sloppy heel vs. heel confusion spot, Statick tagged in his normal partner Kristian Frost and one of the worst hot tags I've ever seen went down. He delivered around three sloppy clotheslines followed by the worst attempt at trying to clothesline someone out of the ring ever. Abruzzi got caught in the ropes as he did it so the spot that should be lighting-quick ended up being molasses-slow. RAVE and Always then hit some tag team spots on Clip O'Reilly. I liked RAVE's tandem facebuster, but the 3-on-1 tag team spot just looked sloppy and botched like everything else about the hot tag. Eventually, the ref got distracted trying to shove out RAVE (which was stupid considering one of them was the legal member) and Abruzzi came in to nail Always with I think some brass knuckles; it was kind of hard to make out. Abruzzi then laid O'Reilly on top of Always and they got the win.
Winners: D-Unit
Star Wrestler: Zack Statick
This match was just a good example of under-trained wrestlers and a match with no real thought put into it. At first, I thought my tag team pet peeve was the reason I disliked it, but the sloppy and botched moves that made up the hot tag solidified this as a bad match. Statick was all right in this match though, compared to the others who couldn't clothesline or work a back at all. Statick was working Summers arm over pretty well with some nice, agile moves; and even though the back offense was abysmal, he still sold it pretty well. Without it, I'm sure it would have been worse.
After the match, Frost proves why he needs to be trained a bit more as he just kind of stands over O'Reilly not doing anything for about fifteen seconds. Yes, so the guy who just cheated you out of a victory is standing below you and you're just going to look oblivious; great logic.
A little hype-up graphic is shown for some guy named Freddy and we go to a break.
Commercial break times one equals me wondering why in the hell a web cast needs commercials. Even if it's just a TV show formatted to internet, you can edit out this crap. It's not needed. I don't see WWE hyping up Heat and Velocity with commercials.
Makua Vs. Fred Curry, Jr.
This match was pretty entertaining, I thought. Apparently, it was Makua's debut. For his debut, he did pretty well. He had a nice power offense that played into him showing off for the crowd and I loved him drawing out the big bumps for the crowd. Curry's offense was pretty much all dropkicks in this match though. When he first started belting them out in repetition, it made sense though as he was trying to knock the guy down. Towards the end, it just seemed like he was doing it for no reason or to hide his lack of move-set. Curry also had some good punches in the beginning of the match, but when he started doing them more and more, it just kind of fell apart. I'm kind of split on Curry cause he's got good fan support and charisma, but when he only used about one or two moves not named punch or dropkick, it doesn't leave much for the imagination. I would like to see more from each guy though and I was still digging the match. Finish came when Curry hit a missile dropkick off the top for the pin.
Winner: Fred Curry, Jr.
Star Wrestler: Makua
For a debuting big guy, he was pretty decent. I really loved him drawing out this big bumps and his face when he finally went down was priceless. I'd really like to see how this guy improves from match to match too. Curry would have gotten this nod, due to his charisma and support as well as the big bumping spot he caused, but he just kept doing the same thing over and over again even when it didn't have much meaning such as in the finish. Makua may have been a little green in the opening; but once he got going, you could see some definite potential.
A hype-up graphic is then shown for Tony Montana and we go to a promo which is hyping up some kind of championship card they have going. Kind of hard to follow for a first-time viewer.
Commercial break times two equals a bad use of time on a web cast.
Dino Laconte Vs. Tony Montana
This was just bad. It was basically a drawn out squash match. Imagine it like any thirty second to one minute squash match you've ever seen except dragged out for three and a half minutes almost. Even more, for the reactions these guys got coming out of the back, the crowd sounded like they passed out during this one. There just weren't many good things I could say about this match except the finish. While the fact that it finally ended was spirit lifting, I did like Montana's submission finisher which was a body scissors/chicken wing variation called the Brooklyn Chicken Wing.
Winner: Tony Montana
Star Wrestler: Tony Montana
It's sad when the only thing that separates you from your opponent in terms of skill is your finishing move. That's all that can be said right there.
A little hype-up graphic is shown for a guy named Big Guns and we go to a break again.
Commercial break times three equals the same damn commercial (plus a Red Cross one) from before.
Kid Krazy Vs. Frankie Arion
Match was mediocre at best. It had some blown spots here and there and the psychology they used was a little marred. Plus, if you're going to work over a body part, do some actual moves to it instead of just submission, submission, and submission. The fast finish kind of picked this match up a few notches on the poll; but in the end, it was just about the same as everything else on the card already: rushed, lack of meaning, and some botched spots here and there. Finish came after Arion hit some good offense followed by the Crossbody for the win.
Winner: Frankie Arion
Star Wrestler: Frankie Arion
His offense wasn't really that effective in the opening, but towards the end, he had an answer for everything Krazy put at him. His taunting of the cowardly heel was pretty fun too. I'd like to see him put more meaning into what he does like working over an arm, but he was still the star in this one.
They then hype up the main event with a grim looking wrestler followed by a commercial hyping up the official band of NECW. Promotions have official bands now?
Commercial break times four equals me not being impressed at all.
Michael Sain Vs. Danny Diaz
For the main event, this was kind of sad as it looked like it belonged in the opening, which may be the real problem with NECW. All their matches are around five minutes or so long and to be blunt, why? Why can't you cut out the commercials or cut a match or two and give time for a character like Michael Sain to develop a bit of a story? They are just putting in too much at this point. Anyway, this match was again mediocre though like most of the rest of the stars, I'd like to see more from Sain. He's got the Abyss/Kane gimmick going, but he seems to sell a little too much to really put it across. The match was basically a face offense, big heel move, face comeback, big heel move, finish. Again, no real meaning or weight to it. Michael Sain did get the crowd going which I really enjoyed. The whole night, it sounded like the audience had maybe ten people in it at most, but in this one, it sounded like a good even thirty people. That may indirectly imply something about how the crowd feels towards the other matches too, but it still puts over that NECW has a pretty good guy to get heat. Anyway, finish came when Sain hit an F-U style Death Valley Driver for the win.
Winner: Michael Sain
Star Wrestler: Michael Sain
This guy probably has the most potential of all the people I saw tonight. He's got the look, he's got the demeanor, and he's got the mannerisms down solid. He just needs to add the in-ring talent aspect to it. He was clearly the star hear as Diaz's moves were just pathetic in the match and most of his punches missed by a mile, but Sain has the potential to really get something going. He definitely needs a more dominant finisher that will take away people's breath kind of like the Black Hole Slam. Some kind of powerbomb would suit the guy well, but hopefully a variation; something like a bounce-off-the-top-rope, spin-around powerbomb. Yeah, that would actually suit his mannerism well. He also needs to just do more than walk around and then hit a move. If Sain put in some work to his in-ring talent, NECW could really be on to something here.
They then show a freaky clip of Sain and the camera goes off the air.
All in all, I wasn't too impressed with this being the first show of NECW I've watched. They tried to cram too many matches in the show when they should have a maximum of two matches accompanied with a promo or two. With the promos, you add some actual storylines (and thus meaning) to the wrestling, and by cutting down the number of matches, you give the wrestlers more time to tell a story. I know I gave a lot of the fights bad ratings, but in the end, what the hell can you do in five minutes? A lot of the stars in NECW, especially Sain, show lots of promise and I'd love to see more from them. I'm perfectly confident that these guys deliver some good matches in the big events NECW hypes; but the TV product is what's going to draw people into watching the bigger events, so why not showcase the talent a bit better? Stop trying to cram so much into a half-hour. Relax and thin out the matches and promos so the workers can get a general rapport with the fans going. This will lead to a hotter crowd and a generally more pleased fan watching at home. Trust me; it will work. While I'm at it, please get a better name than NECW TV. How marketable is that? Anyway, that's going to wrap it up this time guys. Thanks for reading my incessant shtick again! ‘Till next time, this "Squared Circle Reviews" signing off and hoping you enjoy what you watch.
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