Hello, maybe I'll keep up with this, maybe not. Who knows.
I'm trying to get into Independent Wrestling more and more, so if there is an Indy Match that piques my interest that I feel like writing reviews about. The first match of this thread will be.
CHICAGO STYLE WRESTLING
January 19, 2024
CSW CHAMPIONSHIP
Conan Lycan {c} vs Lio Rush
I haven't had much of a chance to watch Lio Rush's work, as early 2019 WWE is a blur to me outside of Kofimania. He's looking good here, in shape and one of the most thriving indy stars from what I know. His opponent, champion Conan Lycan, is apart of a stable called Hatekeepers, but he seems to be a villain.boo'd in his entrance but mainly boo'd by his Baltimore Raven's shirt, but he had a few people in the crowd actively cheering for him, so I'm not fully certain on what he is. Oh well, as long as he entertains me. His stable mates all had matches tonight, including two facing for the CSW Tag Titles, but it appears they left empty-handed. Lycan's got a nice look to him, though it feels a little like a generic big man. I get shades of NXT Lone-Wolf Baron Corbin with how he looks. Lycan does not have a Cagematch Profile, so either he's a rookie or he's just not relevant enough yet to have a profile. Typically, I'll look through Cagematch for more background information, but I'm left with what I see. However, according to profightdb.com, Conan Lycan made two appearances for AEW, with loses to Zack Clayton on Elevation and Shawn Dean on Dark. So, good for him.
The match gets started and it turns out Lycan is a heel with some rabid supporters. Rush starts the match by leaving the ring, so is he playing the heel? I'm confused already, but I'll play it how I feel. Rush is delaying this match as much as possible, so I'm gonna start with him as the bad guy. The size difference is clear, so Rush is starting out with kicks and strikes to wear down Conan, but Lycan's not relenting from going on the attack. Lycan finally downs Rush with a shoulder tackle after a few bouts of running the ropes, before Rush retreats to the outside.
Rush stalls getting into the ring, before trying to attack Conan. Conan catches him but takes a slap to the face, which angers the Landshark (Conan's nickname). A chase scene around the ring until Conan catches him, but Rush is able to go for a hurricanrana which gets countered and reversed into an attempted powerbomb, but Rush manages to get onto the apron. Boot to the face follows as Rush strikes Conan with a sharp kick, before going for a suicide dive. Conan catches him and NEARLY gets a powerbomb, but alas Rush hurricanranas Lycan into the corner.
Rush is playing this cowardly which isn't a bad strategy, as Conan's size is a factor, I'm just shocked it's not the other way around with momentum. Rush has all the advantages while Lycan can't do anything it appears. Both men get into the ring and a pin is attempted on Lycan, to no avail. Strikes now to Conan but Lycan FINALLY gets some offense in, tossing Rush into the air, sending him crashing down before a big boot finally turns the tides for Conan. A gnarly irish whip into the apron leads to Conan beginning to work on the back of Rush.
A bearhug now as it appears Conan's trying to wear down the spine of Rush to limit his movements, but Rush strikes out, before immediately faltering with a double axe-handle style smash. A cover fails as Conan begins to play up to the heelish nature, brutalizing Lio in the corner with strikes and choking him. This makes it ... heel vs heel. Huh, that's fun. A Cowardly yet Crafty Heel vs a Power-based Heel is a fun dynamic.
Lio begins to mount a comeback with strikes, but CONAN WHIPS HIM STRAIGHT THROUGH THE TURNBUCKLES INTO THE CORNERPOST GOD DAMN! I had to hit rewind because that looked brutal, and Lio sold the hell out of it. Rush is crawling to his feet, so now it's Conan as a heel with Rush as a face. Man, this is confusing. Both men are on the outside, as Lycan goes for a powerslam. However, Lio Rush escapes and THROWS HIM OVER THE BARRICADE with momentum and whatever. Lio then LEAPS over the barricade to hit a Swanton to a standing Lycan, taking both men out.
Both men get into the ring to break the count, so no count-out loss, boo. We need more of those in Indies. We get ourselves some good ol' strikes from Lio, before both men clothesline each other thrice before Lio lands another. Now, it's a strike fest from Lio, as he's dodging any attempts for Lycan to attack him. Before Lycan can go for whatever he was trying, Lio downs him with a LARIAT. This is not the performance I was expecting from the champion, as a spinning kick from Lio NEARLY nets him the victory. Lio is going up top, but Conan STOPS HIM!
However, Lio strikes Conan away, before missing a dive. He rolls up to a standing base before Conan CATCHES Lio's crossbody attempt and immediately SLAMS him into the mat. A fast falcon arrow follows as Lio BARELY kicks out. This match is finally starting to heat up and Conan is beginning to actively look like a champion. A dominator or backbreaker is avoided as Lio sends Conan onto the apron, before a handspring kick knocks Conan off the apron to the outside. Lio then hits a suicide dive that takes down Conan, as he's starting to get winded. Conan is on his feet as Lio gets into the ring and hits ANOTHER suicide dive, before dragging Lycan into the ring.
Lio whiffs a frog splash as Lycan throws him into the ropes ... BUT A BOTTOM ROPE SPRINGBOARD STUNNER CONNECTS. That was pretty impressive in all fairness, and I popped. Rush is finally back on the top rope ... AND THE FROG SPLASH CONNECTS BEFORE A ROUNDHOUSE KICK TO A SLIGHTLY REELING LYCAN TAKES HIM DOWN!
But the cover only gets a two-count. Both men get up to their feet and Lio's smashing him with forearm strikes and a couple clotheslines, as Lio is going for another clothesline, but Conan does this weird arm drag into a knee strike thingy, Erik does it in 2k19 as one of his signature moves. Conan picks Lio up ... IS THAT THE STORMBREAKER!? I was not expecting that but it looked really good. A cover and Conan Lycan retains his CSW Championship.
As for the match itself, it was ok. Lio Rush shined most of all, as most of the offense came from him. If I had skipped the entrances, I'd think Lio Rush was the champion going into it. Conan had some offense where he looked good, but I really would have loved to see more of him and what he is capable of. I wasn't sure on the alignments, as they kept swapping, but the end of the match had Lio as the face and Conan as the heel. I liked it though, but I wouldn't ever really recommend it to someone. It's a 1.75 star for me. Not the worst thing I've ever seen, but it's ok.
As for my style of review, I might condense it later in the future and hit the highlights, but I think for this review it works. If there's any indy wrestling matches that you'd think I'd enjoy, lmk and I'll give em a watch. This match can be found on IndependentWrestling.TV
I'm trying to get into Independent Wrestling more and more, so if there is an Indy Match that piques my interest that I feel like writing reviews about. The first match of this thread will be.
CHICAGO STYLE WRESTLING
January 19, 2024
CSW CHAMPIONSHIP
Conan Lycan {c} vs Lio Rush
I haven't had much of a chance to watch Lio Rush's work, as early 2019 WWE is a blur to me outside of Kofimania. He's looking good here, in shape and one of the most thriving indy stars from what I know. His opponent, champion Conan Lycan, is apart of a stable called Hatekeepers, but he seems to be a villain.boo'd in his entrance but mainly boo'd by his Baltimore Raven's shirt, but he had a few people in the crowd actively cheering for him, so I'm not fully certain on what he is. Oh well, as long as he entertains me. His stable mates all had matches tonight, including two facing for the CSW Tag Titles, but it appears they left empty-handed. Lycan's got a nice look to him, though it feels a little like a generic big man. I get shades of NXT Lone-Wolf Baron Corbin with how he looks. Lycan does not have a Cagematch Profile, so either he's a rookie or he's just not relevant enough yet to have a profile. Typically, I'll look through Cagematch for more background information, but I'm left with what I see. However, according to profightdb.com, Conan Lycan made two appearances for AEW, with loses to Zack Clayton on Elevation and Shawn Dean on Dark. So, good for him.
The match gets started and it turns out Lycan is a heel with some rabid supporters. Rush starts the match by leaving the ring, so is he playing the heel? I'm confused already, but I'll play it how I feel. Rush is delaying this match as much as possible, so I'm gonna start with him as the bad guy. The size difference is clear, so Rush is starting out with kicks and strikes to wear down Conan, but Lycan's not relenting from going on the attack. Lycan finally downs Rush with a shoulder tackle after a few bouts of running the ropes, before Rush retreats to the outside.
Rush stalls getting into the ring, before trying to attack Conan. Conan catches him but takes a slap to the face, which angers the Landshark (Conan's nickname). A chase scene around the ring until Conan catches him, but Rush is able to go for a hurricanrana which gets countered and reversed into an attempted powerbomb, but Rush manages to get onto the apron. Boot to the face follows as Rush strikes Conan with a sharp kick, before going for a suicide dive. Conan catches him and NEARLY gets a powerbomb, but alas Rush hurricanranas Lycan into the corner.
Rush is playing this cowardly which isn't a bad strategy, as Conan's size is a factor, I'm just shocked it's not the other way around with momentum. Rush has all the advantages while Lycan can't do anything it appears. Both men get into the ring and a pin is attempted on Lycan, to no avail. Strikes now to Conan but Lycan FINALLY gets some offense in, tossing Rush into the air, sending him crashing down before a big boot finally turns the tides for Conan. A gnarly irish whip into the apron leads to Conan beginning to work on the back of Rush.
A bearhug now as it appears Conan's trying to wear down the spine of Rush to limit his movements, but Rush strikes out, before immediately faltering with a double axe-handle style smash. A cover fails as Conan begins to play up to the heelish nature, brutalizing Lio in the corner with strikes and choking him. This makes it ... heel vs heel. Huh, that's fun. A Cowardly yet Crafty Heel vs a Power-based Heel is a fun dynamic.
Lio begins to mount a comeback with strikes, but CONAN WHIPS HIM STRAIGHT THROUGH THE TURNBUCKLES INTO THE CORNERPOST GOD DAMN! I had to hit rewind because that looked brutal, and Lio sold the hell out of it. Rush is crawling to his feet, so now it's Conan as a heel with Rush as a face. Man, this is confusing. Both men are on the outside, as Lycan goes for a powerslam. However, Lio Rush escapes and THROWS HIM OVER THE BARRICADE with momentum and whatever. Lio then LEAPS over the barricade to hit a Swanton to a standing Lycan, taking both men out.
Both men get into the ring to break the count, so no count-out loss, boo. We need more of those in Indies. We get ourselves some good ol' strikes from Lio, before both men clothesline each other thrice before Lio lands another. Now, it's a strike fest from Lio, as he's dodging any attempts for Lycan to attack him. Before Lycan can go for whatever he was trying, Lio downs him with a LARIAT. This is not the performance I was expecting from the champion, as a spinning kick from Lio NEARLY nets him the victory. Lio is going up top, but Conan STOPS HIM!
However, Lio strikes Conan away, before missing a dive. He rolls up to a standing base before Conan CATCHES Lio's crossbody attempt and immediately SLAMS him into the mat. A fast falcon arrow follows as Lio BARELY kicks out. This match is finally starting to heat up and Conan is beginning to actively look like a champion. A dominator or backbreaker is avoided as Lio sends Conan onto the apron, before a handspring kick knocks Conan off the apron to the outside. Lio then hits a suicide dive that takes down Conan, as he's starting to get winded. Conan is on his feet as Lio gets into the ring and hits ANOTHER suicide dive, before dragging Lycan into the ring.
Lio whiffs a frog splash as Lycan throws him into the ropes ... BUT A BOTTOM ROPE SPRINGBOARD STUNNER CONNECTS. That was pretty impressive in all fairness, and I popped. Rush is finally back on the top rope ... AND THE FROG SPLASH CONNECTS BEFORE A ROUNDHOUSE KICK TO A SLIGHTLY REELING LYCAN TAKES HIM DOWN!
But the cover only gets a two-count. Both men get up to their feet and Lio's smashing him with forearm strikes and a couple clotheslines, as Lio is going for another clothesline, but Conan does this weird arm drag into a knee strike thingy, Erik does it in 2k19 as one of his signature moves. Conan picks Lio up ... IS THAT THE STORMBREAKER!? I was not expecting that but it looked really good. A cover and Conan Lycan retains his CSW Championship.
As for the match itself, it was ok. Lio Rush shined most of all, as most of the offense came from him. If I had skipped the entrances, I'd think Lio Rush was the champion going into it. Conan had some offense where he looked good, but I really would have loved to see more of him and what he is capable of. I wasn't sure on the alignments, as they kept swapping, but the end of the match had Lio as the face and Conan as the heel. I liked it though, but I wouldn't ever really recommend it to someone. It's a 1.75 star for me. Not the worst thing I've ever seen, but it's ok.
As for my style of review, I might condense it later in the future and hit the highlights, but I think for this review it works. If there's any indy wrestling matches that you'd think I'd enjoy, lmk and I'll give em a watch. This match can be found on IndependentWrestling.TV
