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| Photo by Jordan Williams |
From Stephen Platinum:
Division Pro Wrestling put on its fourth show and lived up to
many of the expectations that I had. As
someone who covers a variety of different shows from Deathmatch to events with
wrestling as the garnish to all point in between, I was intrigued by the
viewpoint of Division Pro Wrestling. The
aptly named group has four divisions – heavyweight, middleweight, lightweight
and a women’s division. The open the
card with weigh-ins where they generate angles and varying levels of heat. Are the matches going to be between hated
rivals? A contest of sport? You get the flavor right at the beginning of
the show. And I have to say, it is an
incredibly effective device.
I was up to speed on this, my first Division Pro show, after the
weigh-ins. The crowd at Lebron's Sportsplex (which worried me
at first…they went from 35 to about 50 ten minutes before bell time. Then they were at just under 100 when we got
started! Oh, that late arriving crowd
that any wrestling promoter loves to see but give you all the grey hairs. Division ran eight matches on this night,
which seemed to follow a simple and reliable routine – one match per division
that would be contender’s matches, and each one of the division titles were
defended (or established in the case of the Lightweight Division).
The wrestlers on the show ranged from the established (Amber
Nova) to ones that I had seen before (from the BRAWL USA show) to ones I had
never seen before. I was with my kids,
and they made it through the whole show.
That sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it is the opposite. It’s a testament to the steadily improving
matches, and the angles that were set up during the weigh-ins paying off.
Let me end the introduction this way: J Bryan Miles is the
captain of this ship and was hustling and working – seeing him do everything
from re-arrange the chairs, to talking with each person making sure stuff was
going well to making sure the end of the show worked performance wise…there’s
little doubt that he is doing everything is his power to make Division Pro
Wrestling work. I would imagine he has
the respect and attention of the entire locker room and beyond. I did a little research (mostly to see what
form his name actually was) and stumbled upon this article highlighting the
debut of Division Pro Wrestling…years ago.
Look at who was ON that show!
While that is impressive, I think their current model will suit them
much more business-wise.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-wrestling-promoter-division-pro-20170502-story.html
Remi defeated Malik Bosede and Dante Marquis Carter
(DMC) in a triple threat in a lightweight division contender’s match
This was the right match to open. Crisp, fast paced action by all of the
guys. I was surprised to learn that they
(Remi and the other two) had not worked together before. DMC has been stellar both times I have seen
him. The selling from Malik and his
timing was outstanding. Remi won in a
nice opening match that somehow came across cleaner than matches that has less
moving parts.
Nick Quinones pinned Ali Mohammed with a jackknife
pin (with D-Wayne) in a heavyweight contender’s match
This match had all the heat you wanted courtesy of Mohammed waving
his Iranian flag and D-Wayne garnering many a “Harry Potter” chant directed
towards him. The look of D-Wayne…think
Tyler Culprett’s British uncle, down to the umbrella. Nick is a proud Marine and really made sure
this match stayed grounded in a good and simple story. I liked the deliberate pacing, the great
selling by Nick, the interaction with the crowd by Ali, and the finish. I could already see that Division Pro was going
to find a way to give us a number of different looks for the show and I was
here for it.
Kellie pinned Ava Everett after a fireman’s carry
into a round kick to the face
This was an entertaining match.
Everett played the brat who was over it very very well. I would expect appearances for both women on
an AEW Dark or something else in the future.
Kellie looked like new money and worked very well with Ava. There were a wonky moment here and there, but
for the most part they wrestled a good story, a complete match, and I liked the
variation of the overdone GTS finisher.
Kellie tossed Everett all the way back onto her feet before delivering a
great looking kick to the face. I would
have very happy to see Kellie against Amber Nova for the Women’s Division
title, and Ava Everett in the future.
Anthony Catena pinned Andre Reyes after a full
nelson spun into a stunner in a middleweight contender’s match
Anthony Catena has the pepper for sure. Great energy, great look, and worked very
snug near the end (did something happen to cause a receipt, or was Catena just
working snug to make sure it looked good?
I would be satisfied with either answer). Reyes had a much better outing than he did at
the BRAWL USA show. He kept pace with
the larger Catena. During the weigh-in,
Catena even took off one of his boots to make sure he made weight, listing him
at 225 the very top of the middleweight division, apparently. This was a match built on competition, not
personal animosity, but it still maintained a level of interest. In the end, Catena really put it to Reyes and
pinned him was a very slick looking finish that got an audible reaction from
the crowd.
Women’s Division Champion Amber Nova pinned Kiah
Dream with a crucifix pin
Amber Nova is a pro for sure.
Has a great look, charisma to beat the band, and is who you would want
representing your women’s division as champ.
Kiah was a nice change of pace.
She had a quiet confidence about her, and worked well with Amber for
sure. Another match with a spot or two
that did not connect, but for the most part a match that seemed worthy as a
title match. The exchange at the end
where they went back and forth with pinning combinations until Amber simply got
the better of Dream was very nice. Each
match so far has told a very different story and had different finishes. If they are setting up Nova vs. Kellie, that
seems like a natural draw to me if promoted properly.
Samuel C. pinned Tito Torres with a tremendous
shotgun dropkick to become the first Lightweight Division Champion
I liked Samuel C. at the BRAWL USA show, I LOVED him here. The most interactive, the most unabashedly
heel, the guy that gave the most selling wise to his opponent. He really made this match flow and
sparkle. Tito Torres looked great here,
really playing an effective protagonist.
The spots were cleanly done yet looked very effective. These were smaller guys vying for the
lightweight division title, and they looked like it – fast action and selling
everything big. In the end, another
unexpected but earned finish as Sam C just leveled Torres with a punishing and
explosive dropkick and…that got the pin.
And no one questioned it because it looked so good and was sold so
well. Kudos, guys.
Will Austin defeated the Middleweight Division Champion
Joshua Dawkins and August Artois to become the new Middleweight Division
Champion
This match had the right dynamics. The unabashed scoundrel and arrogant ass
August Artois was a delight. Will Austin
was harder to peg – face or heel? But
his role was to be made clear through the match. And Middleweight Division Champion Joshua
Dawkins was the clear crowd favorite. These
guys had the right mix you’d want. Hard
hitting ala the Heavyweights but they could move and fly around their fair
share (especially thanks to Will Austin.)
Great work all around. Will
Austin scored the pin and has the title now, and seemed genuinely pleased and
it came across. He started the match in
the “do I cheer or do a boo” box but finished in the “that guy is great”
box. That is through no small effort on
the part of Dawkins and August. Will
Austin vs. Catena would SEEM to be the match for next show…however….
Heavyweight Division Champion Deathrow Jethro (with
D-Wayne, who was ejected from the match early on) pinned Rey Xion (with Shogun
as a ringside enforcer)
This was two big guys trading big hits that has a personal
grudge feel to it. Deathrow Jethro
shocked him with how great he took a bump.
It felt odd to have him bumping around so early in the match, it took
away from the effectiveness of him getting leveled later in my opinion. Xion worked well here, and the crowd wanted a
win for him for sure. The finish was a
bit of a busy affair, with D-Wayne returning with Ali Mohammed (Ali got into it
with a jacked ringside fan that definitely pulled focus from the ring at the
wrong time) and his umbrella being put into the ring to have the enforcer
Shogun try an intercede and get leveled by Xion for his troubles, only for Xion
to walk into a good right hand from Jethro and get pinned. If that last sentence left you a bit
bedraggled, then I gave you the effect that I had as well. It’s too bad because so many things about
this worked. But it was hard to focus on
what stories they were trying to tell and where my attention was supposed to
be. I had assumed at first that Jethro
had a loaded up fist, but nope, his good punch is his finish. Okay.
Afterwards, J Bryan Miles came into the ring and had some things
to say…but he and Deathrow Jethro got into it!
After a blinding fast series where Miles ended up hitting a great
looking reverse elbow, he was taken down by the D-Wayne gang and beaten
viciously…until Anthony Catena came in all fire and energy, sending the heels
scuttling away. J Bryan Miles warned
Deathrow Jethro that it was strike two…then Catena said he would move up to
Heavyweight so he could challenge Deathrow Jethro at the next show! A great ending and use of things established
earlier (Catena barely able to stay in the middleweight class, winning his
match decisively, etc.)
Would I come back to Division Pro? Most assuredly. The next show is in two months and I’ll do my
level best to be there. Originality is
sometimes in short supply in pro wrestling, but Division Pro feels like they
are on the right track.
