WFWF: Riot on Broad Street live review & recap - PWN.com

WFWF: Riot on Broad Street Review
BY ICHABOD SLIPP| @i_SLIPP| MAY 5, 2018


(Picture by PWN subscriber, Joe Besser)

The WFWF came to Philly this week for The Riot on Broad Street and appropriately named – there were a few times where I thought a riot was going to break out. The infamous Philly crowd was their loud, usual self at this event and the place was sold out. There were only four matches, which is fine considering the WFWF has enough talent to put on an incredible show regardless. They've once held a show with only three matches but it was easily one of their best shows to date. It’s just that Philly is one of those spots where you always want to give them more. Lesson of the day: quality over quantity.

The show began with a brief interaction between Mak Cross and the champion, Frank Lynn outside the arena. It was very tense, but it really got you pumped for the main event! We then got an interview with Mesh, who made her much-anticipated debut. I am familiar with her since she’s local to my area and she has a bit of an online following. I’m surprised the WFWF would sign her considering I’ve never been too impressed with her, to be honest. She’s got the look and she’s certainly marketable but in terms of her work rate, she’s okay. She reminds me of one of those inflatable tube men that you see outside of car dealerships. Anyway, she was quirky and bubbly as she’s always been. Not much to say there.

(1) HAMILTON K. CLARKE VS. MESH - * 1/2

The opening bout was essentially a showcase for Mesh as Clarke is the more experienced (and much better) wrestler so it makes senses as to why these two were paired up. The match started out slow and it built nicely. Mesh had the advantage early on, but Clarke used his experience to gain the upper hand. A couple of hope spots here and there. Clarke did his job of making Mesh look like a million bucks here. Mesh went over with a roll-up and here’s where I got upset. I don’t think roll-up finishes do anybody good. I don’t like roll-up finishes. They’re lazy. Plain and simple. It’s a cheap way to get a rematch. Whoever wrote the match should be fired. Clarke attacked Mesh after the match so now we’re guaranteed a rematch sometime down the road.

WINNER: Mesh

Afterwards, a vignette form that strange man from weeks ago appeared on the screen and he rambled on about slowing down and getting the redemption “you waited too long to chase”. It was mysterious and super vague but…I’m intrigued. It’s a bit over-the-top for me but I enjoyed it.

Now as a quick side note - I don’t want you to think that I’m picking on Mesh because I’m not. It’s just that I like my wrestling to be presented in a serious manner. Mesh, to me is the antithesis of everything that’s good in the WFWF. I’m just being honest here. Give me more of guys like Clarke or Jayson Sykes or David Brennan and less of Mesh and that f**king janitor!

We then get an interview with the WFWF International Champion Frank Lynn where he continues to ask for forgiveness from the company as well as the fans for his past actions. I could have done with Daphne as she sort of took away from the sincerity of the interview.

(2) BILLY BROOM VS. REVEREND SHADOW - ** 3/4

As stated above with Mesh, I don’t get Billy Broom. According to the WFWF themselves, Broom is a shoot janitor for the company that became a wrestler. I mean, I’ll give them credit – it’s original but he’s all comedy and I don’t like that. Broom doesn’t know much about pro wrestling but what he does know, he does very well. The crowd was fully behind Broom throughout the entire match even though Broom had the upper hand for much of it. Broom was about to score the pinfall until a woman came from the crowd and attacked both men! Brutal kicks and chops to Broom and a sick neckbreaker to Shadow. The woman was Reina Kenshin, who also had a vignette during the show after the mysterious man. I'm very familiar with her work in the NJA, probably the best wrestling organization at one point. A legit shoot fighter, Kenshin had expressed an interest of wanting to wrestle elsewhere in the past, claiming that she was bored and looking for real competition. Savage.

WINNER: Billy Broom

That being said, she had the best debut in company history. Period. As a pro wrestling journalist, I’m often asked the essentials of what makes wrestling good and what makes wrestling bad. One of the things that I always say is that you need to be believable. You need to be genuine. Reina looks the part and as cliché as this sounds but that’s how you make an impact on your debut night! *looks at Mesh*

We then saw the return of Cameron Stone announcing his one-off return to the company for the next show at Madison Square Garden. Yawn.

(3) JAYSON SYKES VS. TYLER DRAVEN - ****

This is where the show really started to pick up! These two guys are being heralded as “the future of the company” and with good reason, these guys always tear the house down! Draven was full control early on. Sickening running power bomb from Draven, it sounded like a shotgun blast! The best spot in the match was when Sykes locked Draven in a triangle choke and Draven got out of it by lifting Sykes and smashing him into the corner with a buckle bomb! Wow. Sykes hit a sick superkick to Draven and I thought that was it but nope! Big pop for that from the crowd. Draven hit Sykes with the 3D for the win. Fantastic match!

WINNER: Tyler Draven

Michael Kyzer came out to NUCLEAR HEAT. This was one of the few times where I was genuinely convinced that a riot was going to break out! Kyzer came out to basically do what he’s very good at: talking crap. The fans threw trash and other objects into the ring during Kyzer’s promo throughout the entire segment, it was insane! We also saw Lila Sleater, WFWF General Manager come out and confront Kyzer about his comments about David Brennan. She announced the main event for the show at Madison Square Garden: David Brennan vs. Kyzer in a Street Fight. Oh, boy. The crowd popped for the announcement!

(4) MAK CROSS VS. FRANK LYNN - ****

The crowd was invested in the match, which made the match feel like a main event. Mak dominated early in the match, it wasn’t as technical as their previous match was but that was expected. Mak worked the knee of the champion but later, shook it off like it was nothing. Frank had Mak in a crossface hold and Daphne pulled the rope away, so Mak Cross couldn’t reach it to break the hold. The crowd got hot for that. So many good spots in the match especially where Mak took Frank down with a headscissors and turned it into an armbreaker! The last few sequences were brilliantly done with Frank fighting through the pain and Mak pretty much on his last breath; both realizing that they were evenly matched. Frank put Mak Cross to sleep to retain the title. Wow. Just wow. This match was a battle from start to finish.

WINNER: Frank Lynn to retain the WFWF International Championship

All in all, this was a decent WFWF show. I’ve attended hundreds of their shows and they’ve done better. I’m not as harsh as I usually am considering the company is in the middle of a “rebuilding” stage where new faces are coming in, so I think the future is still bright for the company. It will just take some time getting there.

This was a two-match/two segment show and unfortunately, the two classic matches weren’t strong enough to help elevate the show any higher. For the Madison Square Garden show, I’m expecting more meat on the bone than this show provided me.

SHOW RATING: D+