X marks the spot

Here are my live as they pour out of my head thoughts on CZW X: Decade of Destruction (2/14/09), the ten-year anniversary show for the ultraviolent federation:

(NOTE: Thoughts may not be “live as they pour out of my head” but actually recreated a few weeks after I watched the show...still counts, right?)

-Why is Drew Gulak wrestling Kermit the Frog? Oh wait, that’s Little Mondo, I just confused him with Kermit because he’s SOOOO green! And why is Gulak so vanilla? Why can this match be described in colors and flavors?

-I enjoy Sami Callihan. A lot. The potential of Callihan as a major force in CZW...that has me paying attention.

-Hey, it’s The S.A.T., how relevant...in 2001! I suppose since this is an anniversary show I can’t complain too much about older talent being dusted off, so long as The S.A.T. promise not to become germane to the Indy scene again. At least the tag team gauntlet they are involved in isn’t completely awful. Particularly, Tyler Veritas and Adam Cole show some potential, though again why so cookie-cutter in their look? Why is that such a common problem on the CZW undercard?

-Sabian and Egotistico Fantastico actually have a fantastic match. Definitely needed this to save the show from an early toe-tag. Both guys work hard, tell a great story, and deliver some memorable moments. Good stuff.

-Perfect follow-up to the previous match with Drew Blood and Pinkie Sanchez in a bout that is probably better than I ever assumed either man had in them. The intensity is turned all the way up, and it makes for a fun bout. I’m actually quite impressed by this one. Fantastic stuff. More of this please!

-The Best Around and El Sexisto against 2 Girls, 1 Cup and Lord Everett Devore works just fine as a mostly comedic match. It does help that everybody involved is full of personality and knows how to work it during a bout. Plus, I really like The Best Around, so seeing them in any capacity gets slight thumbs up right from the get go.

-Dear Devon Moore and Ruckus: You wasted my time. You had a crap match. I’m pretty sure you were trying to have a crap match. And you succeeded. At crap. Good job. Though I won’t blame you for the ridiculously weak finish to the bout, but whoever came up with it deserves some of the crap credit as well. It takes a lot to make me really dislike a match, and you did it.

-Really wanted to like Ryan McBride vs. Quick Carter Gray. I really did. Both guys look good and I’m sure they have plenty of great matches in them. But this wasn’t one at all. Something was just off, and slow, and borderline boring. Disappointing really, but I’m not ready to give up on these two talents yet.

-Death Matches aren’t my thing most of the time, though if you do something really unique or original with the stipulation, I can definitely be won over. The H8 Club and Cult Fiction didn’t do anything unique, or original, thus they didn’t win me over. The bout isn’t bad; in fact fans of the genre may consider it quite good, but I wasn’t sold on it.

-I’ll admit that Drake Younger vs. Eddie Kingston on paper is what first attracted me to this show. I’ve seen them wrestle before, and consider myself a big fan of both men, so the prospect of them battling for the CZW World Title sparked my interest. That it was a No Rope Barbed Wire match knocked my expectations down a notch, but I must say, bravo to both men for a great showing. They work the gimmick perfectly, making for a really strong contest overall.