Connor McGrath
It’s a blast from the past as Wrestling On Fire takes a look at New Jersey’s Liberty States Wrestling featuring Culture Crossfire favorite Danny Maff and a litany of stars including a former WCW World Champion. Plus Bill Apter interviews Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
They’ve revised the opening credits of the show again. This time to include current Wrestling On Fire Tag Team Champions Da House Party, who I don’t believe we’ve actually seen on the TV show yet. This company!
This week’s episode is going down at a show for a promotion called Liberty States Wrestling in New Jersey. Two weeks after Wrestling On Fire’s huge TV taping, we still haven’t seen a lick of footage from it. I expect to see it sometime in November. Anyway, let’s g0 down to ringside.
Eddie Franken Vs Damien Darling (with the Players Club)
Damien Darling is best known as Tammy Sytch’s embattled on again, off again boyfriend. Eddie Franken, is I assume, no relation to Al but is a goofy, plucky young rookie who enters to Rush’s “Limelight”. The Players Club are a bunch of arrogant heels in zebra print tights. Franken’s selling is distractingly over the top.
BLOOPER as we cut to a commercial for Wrestling On Fire’s shows at the Topsham and Farmington Fairs here in Maine in August and September but we’re still hearing the commentary for this match. Hrm. Finally, it syncs up and then we cut to an actual commercial.
Darling cuts off a Franken comeback attempt and then hits a p. impressive delayed vertical suplex on Franken. Darling’s lackeys pummel Franken. The announcers try to put over Franken with the “this guy has gotten no offense but he’s got spunk” spiel. Franken gets some token offense in before Darling eventually overpowers him and finishes him with a Razor’s Edge. This was a squash match that was 3-4 minutes too long. Darling was impressive at times even though he seemed like he was going through the motions a bit. C+
The Players Club cuts a promo on Culture Crossfire favorite, early ROH star Danny Maff. Maff looks swoll and slowly lumbers to ringside while signing autographs for little kids in the front row while The Players Club insults him for being Puerto Rican. Holy 1981, Batman. The Players Club cut a quasi shoot interview on Danny Maff saying no other wrestlers like him. They challenge him to a tag team match with a partner of his choosing. Danny Maff shrugs and looks to the back. MOTHERFUCKING VADER COMES OUT and the SHIT IS ON! I’m legit marking out! The Players Club freaks out and we go to break.
And the momentum is ruined as after commercial break, we go to Bill Apter interviewing Jake Roberts at WrestleCon during WrestleMania XXIX Weekend. *sigh* Roberts talks about winning the 2014 Royal Rumble. *double sigh*. Roberts puts over sobriety and clean living. Roberts says he’s “enjoying the shit out of living clean” since nobody cares about this show, nothing is bleeped. Apter and Roberts talk about Scott Hall’s recovery. Jake The Snake tears up talking about Diamond Dallas Page. *SIGH*
“Insane” Zane Williams Vs “The American Nightmare” Mike Massacre
Get rid of these indy geeks, I WANT VADER! Williams and Massacre trade holds and they pause for a respect applause from the audience. Sometimes, I hate ROH’s influence on wrestling. Zane Williams looks like a taller, skinnier Orlando Jordan. Mike Massacre looks like…some generic indy dude. Massacre works over Williams’ leg. The announcers talk about how merciless Massacre is and “with a name like Mike Massacre, you have to be!” Massacre taunts the crowd by talking about how he beat up his parents when he was a little kid. The announcers are flummoxed. I was going to point out that Williams is actually doing a good job of selling his leg but as I was about to type that he big booted Massacre with the leg and even the announcers pointed out his stupidity (even though he’s the babyface). Massacre punts Williams in the head. Williams gets another brief comeback before Massacre finishes him with a Texas Cloverleaf. This match was relatively technically sound, outside of a few moments but utterly forgettable. C
This was another placeholder show as we got two rote but forgettable squash matches featuring guys that I would not be surprised if we never saw them on this show again…although Darling was mildly impressive as a powerhouse, arrogant heel. VADER showing up out of nowhere was a legit semi-surprising moment and I did mark out, even if it was in a “OH MAN! THIS GUY WAS AWESOME 20 YEARS AGO” sense. Having a star of that caliber is never a bad thing if you’re a small indy show even if Vader is 20 years past his prime. And they made the wise decision of minimizing the risk of embarrassment by most likely covering up his weaknesses by putting him in a tag match. Because of the 30 second cameo by Vader, one of my favorites in my youth and because nothing really sucked…besides the reminder of Jake Roberts’ constant relapses, I give this episode a Very Mild Thumbs Up.
Join us next week as hopefully, we’ll see Danny Maff and the greatest big man of all time, former WCW World Champion Vader take down those racist rascals in the Players Club. For the first time, I’m unironically looking forward to an episode of this show! Of course, that means there’s a 75% chance that it’ll be preempted by an infomercial!
Till next week, keep on smilin’ in this Culture Crossfire!
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