Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 10/22/16)

Ladder Lads 

– Little did we know that the Oct. 22nd would bring drastic broadcast format changes for one West Coast Wrestling Connection. On one hand, we were thrilled at the sleekness in production that brought new “type-in and erase” style text upon the wrestler’s entrances and pre-match promos that were now in the center of the screen rather than picture-in-picture. On the other, we saw Jeff Akin’s return to commentary and Kris Kloss’ absence. We had began to warm up to Kloss, who played the babyface announcer to a tee and had better chemistry with Commentator Morty Lipschitz. Hard to tell if it was a one-episode thing, but with new ads too (they took The Whirlwind Gentlemen out of the “Beds And Furniture 4 Less” commercial), maybe it was a sign of things to come.

– The Julian Whyt-Owen Travers match was off without a hitch as we adjusted to the new changes. Whyt was dead in the water character-wise, so Travers was a perfect match for him as an enhancement bout. We continue to see potential in the rambunctious Travers and his mic skills are parallel to his in-ring style. This match helped propel those beliefs, but not memorable to say the least, as Travers won with a high body splash. When it comes to builds, slow and steady wins the race and Travers has already been positioned better than other guys like Marcus Malone.

– The last time we saw Matt Striker, he praised “Adrenaline” Adrian Matthews as a hard worker and somebody who’d “keep the lights going long after he was gone.” Striker’s character is a deeper heel than others, as he goes out of his way to stand out. He’s almost a smark heel. This match that put him against Ian Sutton was a chance for payback, as the last time they battled, he was embarrassed by Sutton’s dancing. Striker started off aggressively and never looked back. Sutton showed some fight, but looked more sympathetic. Striker hit two Pedigrees before he hit a final one with Sutton hung in the middle rope, a la WWE’s Randy Orton. It was kind of sick and sadistic. We loved it. Post-match, Striker went for more as he sat Sutton up and dropkicked him out of the ring. He teased another Pedigree on the floor before he ultimately decided against it. A little bit odd and rough around the edges, but it helped get Striker over. We have more hope for him than Sutton at this point. We were surprised nobody came to try to make the save.

– Adam Thornstowe’s backstage promo spoke about his chance to get back his WCWC Pacific Northwest Champion from Champion Grappler III. It was “robbed” from him in typical Wrecking Crew fashion, when rib injuries sustained from the group proved too much for Thornstowe to overcome.

– The WCWC Pacific Northwest Championship match between Champion G3 and Thornstowe told a niece story, as the challenger cashed in his immediate rematch clause. We weren’t surprised that Jeremy Blanchard and Kassius Koonz were out on behalf of G3. Eventful match as we saw Thornstowe nearly overcome the outside interference, but as we assumed, it was enough to rock Thornstowe for a loop to make him lose. To be exact, G3 used outside distractions to knock Thornstowe off the top rope as he crashed his groin on the turnbuckle and fell to the canvas. That was enough to get the three-count. What interested us more than the tired finish was the post-match angle with Thornstowe and Striker, as Striker came out and tipped an imaginary cap to Thornstowe, started an “Oy!” chant (perhaps to mock him) and gestured “tick tock,” which probably meant a future challenge.

– The backstage promo from Matthews hyped his match with “The Rock God” Ricky Gibson, as he claimed he knew his tricks and they wouldn’t work on him this time. We like Matthews’ energy and that he’s smarter than the other roster guys. Seemingly.

– The Gibson-Matthews match wasn’t long, but good while it lasted. Gibson worked over Matthews’ back early on before the face started a comeback that culminated when he kicked Mr. Tubbs away at ringside when he tried to interfere. One last attempt to bring in Janice (no, not Abyss’ barbed wire bat, but Gibson’s beloved guitar) resulted in Matthews outsmarting him to get the pin with this finisher. We also liked that they stuck to Matthews’ “I’ve got you figured out” promo as far as the match story.

– Eric Right’s backstage promo hyped the big Ladder Match main event to decide the new WCWC legacy Championship with Ethan HD. We had it hyped a week beforehand with the news that Kate Carney would be banned from ringside. He did a nice job of speaking about the bout as a huge occurrence, rightfully so since it was a first-time ever situation in WCWC. He had a killer final line as he called Ethan a footnote in his legacy.

– The backstage promo from Ethan/Carney doubled the main event hype as the heels were confident that Ethan had it in the bag. Better yet, Carney brandished a three-dimensional hashtag.

– The Ladder Match for the WCWC Legacy Championship with Carney banned from ringside between Ethan and Right didn’t have a lot of time to be anything of substance, as it barely scratched the nine-minute mark. The two men work well together and tried their best with the limits of a few ladders and one that didn’t have equal rungs on both sides. Some stiff spots as we saw Right swing the ladder like a helicopter at Ethan’s head and also dropped him rib-first into a ladder fastened at ringside. Of course, we couldn’t have a match with these two without more shenanigans, as Carney (who was banned from ringside) came out and decided to prevent Right from a win. Who needs rules these days anyway? Will they use that next week? Anyways, a somewhat dramatic finish as we saw the deciding factor end up being a “fan” dressed in Right’s likeness as he wrestled away the ladder from Right. Ethan used the situation to grab the belt and bring it down, which made him Champion once again. We have to say we’re more interested in what happens with Right from here on out. Can we move Ethan on to bigger and better things?

Quick Results

• Owen Travers def. Julian Whyt via pinfall 
• Matt Striker def. Ian Sutton via pinfall 
• WCWC Pacific Northwest Championship – Grappler III (w/Jeremy Blanchard, Kassius Koonz) def. Adam Thornstowe via pinfall to retain 
• “Adrenaline” Adrian Matthews def. “The Rock God” Ricky Gibson (w/Mr. Tubbs) via pinfall 
• WCWC Legacy Championship – Ladder Match – Kate Carney Banned From Ringside – Ethan HD def. Eric Right to regain Championship