Forever Forward Friday

Solo Darling VS Shotzi Blackheart - F1RST Wrestling 3/21/2019

CJD: I watched some other quality Shotzi matches before landing on this one. And this isn't perfect but maybe I'm just a sucker for a good opener. It really popped for me and hopefully it does for you too. Solo is another wrestler I'm pretty familiar with in a tag team setting in Chikara like Vox a few weeks ago, and once again I got a much better sense of her as a wrestler here. And I definitely left these two weeks of Blackheart matches a new fan of hers. She has a goofy enthusiasm that borders on cheesy but she pulls it off really well. Also, Halloween tights!

JJZ: First off I'm gonna be honest. I'm drunk. Let's go! Love the Halloween theme and love that local brewery advertising. I know I mentioned that before but fuck it. I like this venue. This was a great opener. I think Solo is good and has a lot of potential. She has a good moveset and is very aggressive. Shotzi is her unique self in this match, that keeps your eyes on her. For any beer lovers out there I'm drinking a Neshaminy Creek Dunks Ferry while watching this match. I'd give this beer 4 bottle caps fyi. This is was a fun match that fits the placement in the card and should make you keep an eye out for both wrestlers.

CJD: Is that four out of five bottle caps,  four out of seven bottle caps, or four out of ten bottle caps??

JJZ: Lol 5

Small Town Adonis Hits The Metropolis

Blue Panther VS Sam Adonis - CMLL Cabellera VS Cabellera 8/4/2017

CJD: We've been sending each other on a lot of journeys lately. And much like A-Kid surprised me with how many moves he liked to bust out as I dug deeper, so too was I surprised that Sam Adonis is not always a less is more kind of wrestler. But I was craving something with a classic feel like your Hobbs match. So I looked up what Adonis' most high profile stuff was since he donned a MAGA cap and this immediately jumped to the front of my que. My favorite old man tecnico in front of a red hot Areno Mexico crowd, hair VS hair, taking on a Trump supporter AND a rudo ref working against him? This one had me hooked beginning to end. Their chemistry more than delivered on my expectations. I need to seek out more Adonis in Mexico.

JJZ: This was one fun-ass watch. The crowd was boiling hot. There was so much heat between Adonis and Panter that I wouldn't have been shocked if steam was coming off their shoulders. Nothing t6o crazy spot wise was needed for this match but they still had a few Oh Shit moments. Adonis draping Panther in the Trump American flag and splashing him was such a Fuck You move. The rudo ref made for some entertaining moments but I don't think the match needed it. Great pick baby.

Forever Forward Friday

LuFisto VS Shotzi Blackheart - Women's Wrestling Revolution 3/25/2018

JJZ: Can't believe with as long of a career that Lufisto has had these are the first matches that I can recall seeing. I am a fan. I got to watch some older and newer stuff before settling on this match. Shotzi Blackheart I am familiar with and also a fan of. Mama Pawg's veteran psychology mixed with Shotzi's innovative offense and youth made for one hell of a match. I definitely thought "I've never seen that before!" a few times. Shake that up with a positive encouraging crowd and pour it into one of my favorite venues. You got yourself one hell of a match.

CJD: While LuFisto is new to you, Shotzi is new to me. And that's what FFFridays are all about! You can tell I haven't had a Network subscription in a minute, I'd be curious to see how Blackheart's gimmick translates to NXT. Being billed from the Black Lagoon is a nice touch. You nailed it with the veteran VS rising talent comments, the dynamic in this one was perfect. Great hold for hold wrestling with a more deliberate pace thanks to LuFisto's experience. Great energy from Shotzi and one hell of a finish that came at just the right time. Good stuff!

No One Man Should Have All That Will Power

Will Hobbs (c) VS Sam Adonis - APW Worldwide Internet Championship 2/1/2019

JJZ: I'm going to start the review with a quote from Les Brown. "Just because fate doesn't deal you the right cards, it doesn't mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential." This was an extremely hard challenge for me. Not because Will Hobbs isn't a good wrestler, but because I just don't have enough quality content out there currently. He thankfully got signed up very quickly by AEW so almost all the matches I found were on the shorter side in empty arenas. It didn't showcase this man the way I would like. A man that is wrestling in honor of his brother who took a bullet for him. Him and his brother had a dream together of being a manager & wrestler duo that was ended even before it started. Taking the motto Will Power to a whole new level for me. So what I share with you today probably won't make a Best of Will Hobbs compilation but it is a call back to the 80s and early 90s. A true cheap heat heel shining up a plucky underdog baby face. This match honestly is something I haven't seen in a long time. Sam Adonis is a throwback back to the Iron Sheiks and Nikolai Volkoffs of the wrestling world. Really poking at people's feelings in the real world. And Will Hobbs is their Hulk Hogans and Hackshaw Jim Duggans fighting for what's right in the world. I hope you can see what I see in this match baby cakes.

CJD: You know I've watched a ton of 80s Mid South and Texas. Well everything about this match reminded me of some sort of Butch Reed VS Rick Rude fever dream and I fucking loved it. This is my first time seeing Adonis and he reminds me of Sweeney or Magnum CK in that he's not just doing some ironic tribute gimmick, this guy is the real deal. Bonus points for being a big physically intimidating dude who's just a little bit soft enough that if I was there live and had a few beers I'd probably start yelling at him that I could kick his Trump loving ass. Which I absolutely could not. Hobbs was running the ropes and hitting his shoulder tackles and clotheslines with the explosiveness that they became highspots. Also thank you for that thorough backstory on Hobbs and your journey to landing on this match. You often credit me as the wordsmith of the FanCam Connection but this week you took me on a narrative arc that had me hook line and sinker my friend.

Forever Forward Friday

Jordynne Grace/LuFisto VS Tasha Steelz/Karen Q - Women's Wrestling Revolution 5/27/2018

CJD: Tasha Steelz took me on a long journey that brings us to our first FFF tag match. I love seeing LuFisto happy, healthy and contributing to this new generation of talent. She's a true trailblazer and back when she was wrestling Necro Butcher in the KOTDM I didn't anticipate a long career for her. I love Steelz and Q representing their trainer Damian Adams with Purazzo on commentary as well. Their performance gives me real 90s Saturday morning babyface vibes which warms my heart. Both teams feel like a cohesive unit and have good chemistry with each other. And I know you love this venue!

JJZ: Love watching team PAWG! Excited for this one! This is a classic heel/baby face tag match. A lot of shine mixed with aggressive heat. And I do love this venue. I think you'll agree this could have used a little more time but they made the most of what they had. Energy and psychology really poured out. All four of these women really capture the independent spirit of Beyond and WWR. The fact they can perform such a solid tag match while being such excellent singles wrestlers shows the depth of their talent.

Lamb Of Cobb

Jeff Cobb VS Will Hobbs - APW Universal Championship 4/14/2018

CJD: Hobbs is a hot name in wrestling right now so let's see if he can give PIF the rub with a little run with the Misawa Dick Togo Santo Outercontinental WWKD Championship. You picked last weeks match to show Ricochet against a top name, this week I'm doing the opposite and showing Cobb against at the time a top local talent on the rise. This match feels like a real struggle. Ironically reminding me of a classic NJPW heavyweight bout even though Cobb rarely has matches like this in Japan. You can correct me if I'm wrong since you've been Mr NJPW for a little while now. But this is how I want Cobb to be presented everywhere, and Hobbs does a great job conveying the challenge in front of him and how bad he wants this. Fair warning this is one of those videos that ends VERY abruptly after the finish, which is a shame because I'd loved to have seen the reactions and post match.

JJZ: I fucking love Jeff Cobb. I was just thinking that he was kinda forced into his role as a top independent wrestler. If you think about it he really started making a name for himself when the indy scene had so much top talent. Then very quickly everyone got signed and the road to the top was clear. Now don't get me wrong he definitely deserves it. Cobb would stand out in any group of wrestlers. So I love you sharing a match of his with a younger less familiar wrestler. This Hobbs fella is a thick cut of beef so just looking at a picture of the match you'd think this would be a straight forward hoss fight. But it ain't! I'm eating up the slow technical start that leads into the bigger spots. They did such a good job of setting a base that everything towards the end came across like it could end the match. Nice pick baby cakes!

Forever Forward Friday

Ashley Vox VS Tasha Steelz - Limitless Wrestling 1/24/2020

JJZ: So far I think my favorite thing about our Forever Forward Championship is deep diving into the independent promotions. Limitless is a promotion that I've seen a few things from but wasn't super familiar with. I like the feel of them and the focus they put on women's wrestling. I wasn't familiar with Tasha Steelz before this match and I was impressed. Not sure her age but in wrestling years she has some veteran polish on her. I like her whole vibe. I liked playing this match forward as it gave you the other end of what Vox can do. She was fantastic in a blood feud but in this showcased that she can work a good mid card match. Also I'm in love with her finisher!

CJD: Tasha Steelz is new to me too and has that quality about her where she can walk in and take on a promotion's top star, make them look great but still make a big impression in her own right. I love this Walking Tall Ashley Vox, she's been such a revelation and will become a must-watch kind of wrestler moving forward. And I agree about Limitless, I don't hear a ton about them but clearly they have a devoted fanbase and everything I've seen from them has been quality. Nice pick baby, and a good palate cleanser after last week's violence party.

I Gaze, Dim Ricochet Of Stars

Ricochet VS Jeff Cobb - OTT Wrestlerama Belfast 8/6/2017

JJZ: With this match I wanted to show Ricochet working with the opposite of A-Kid. Someone bigger and more of an independent veteran. I also was super stoked to see Cobb throw the King around. I thought they did add some basic but nice psychology while still doing the big crowd pleasing spots. I really enjoyed this match, I couldn't figure out which way it would go. I bit on the falsies and had a couple "Damn!" moments. These two would make for a fantastic best of 7 series. Their styles are different enough to really have different levels of matches.

CJD: Yeah, Ricochet and Cobb could have played the hits for this overseas match and the crowd would have went just as wild and nobody would have said one negative word. Instead they went out and clearly had fun doing something unique to that night and still delivered a red hot match. Not quite as good as their BOLA contest but I give them a lot of respect for keeping it fresh. These two have such a great power VS speed dynamic, where they're both surprisingly strong and agile too, so there's a lot of oneupsmanship. I think you can guess my one criticism which is I wish Ricochet went back to the leg. But Cobb's selling was so good I almost don't mind. Almost. I agree whole heartedly that I could watch them wrestle many times over, I wonder if there's any more matches out there?

Glossary

Does it feel like you need a glossary sometimes to keep track of what's happening which day of the week at PIF? Well then use this handy quick visual reference to help remind you of your northern from your southern lariats!

Forever Forward Friday

Kris Statlander VS Ashley Vox - Limitless Wrestling Unsanctioned Match 1/11/2019

CJD: Getting into a blood feud on Fridays for the first time and we're starting with a bang. I've seen a little of Ashley Vox in CHIKARA teaming with her sister but I've never seen this side of her. These two have such an electric physical chemistry that makes you want to see them tear each other apart. I think the fact this match has 2 million+ views speaks to that. Good for Limitless Wrestling and good for these ladies. They had one hell of a fight and I'm going to do everything I can to have us circle back to their Last Creature Standing match eventually if it's anywhere near this good.

JJZ: The 2.2 million views was the first thing I noticed when I put the match on. Great for them. This is the most serious I've seen Statlander so far. I like the aggression. I'm pretty sure this is the first Vox match I've seen. Speaking of your mental image with Stat when I first read Ashley Vox's name I pictured someone totally different. Love love love that she uses Maui's hook from Moana. This is a seriously stiff and tight match. The anger and heat between these two women pours out of the screen. The home stretch was fantastic and made me cringe while still keeping smart psychology. Great independent wrestling right here baby cakes.