Forever Forward Friday

AR Fox VS Arik Cannon - Dragon Gate USA Mercury Rising 3/31/2012

CJD: You picked Cannon for Forever Forward Fridays as an indy lifer who's helped build the scene over his career. And I dove deep into some of that indy indy material to try to find my match in response. But at the end of the day I couldn't find anything that popped quite like this so instead I'm going to go back to the well of another former MDTSOCWWKD Champion in AR Fox. Cannon makes sense to me as an indy lifer, Fox is kind of a curious case in what an indy guy he's been (outside of Lucha Underground). He seemed poised to break out big around the time of this match. I've been surprised going back to DGUSA how well it's aged. I think if the promotion had started 3-5 years later it'd still be going strong. This match is part of a bigger feud between DUF and Sabu, Fox, and I think maybe Jon Davis too, and that stuff comes into play. But the main thing that sticks out to me is what a tight veteran VS rising star dynamic these two have. I'd love to see more from the two of them, but I guess that's the gift and the curse of being married to the indies. You're always left with a little mystique of "what if?"

JJZ: So I remember being at a DGUSA/Evolve show that had an angle during this feud. DUF was tapping beer bottles together and I remember Sami cutting a great promo. I always wanted to see more but never dove in. SO! This is a welcome treat. I think your comments are spot fucking on about this match. I can't believe Fox didn't get seriously hurt on that 450 to the outside. This match tells a great story in a short amount of time. They have the crowd on the edge of their seats by the end and I found myself saying "oh shit!" out loud a few times. Cannon is someone who I'm really falling in love with for our Friday title run. His ability to get himself and his opponents over at the same time is a true skill. Great match my friend.

Forever Forward Friday

Heidi Lovelace VS Arik Cannon - FEST WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINALE 10/30/2016

JJZ: Alright. I know you're not the biggest fan of intergender wrestling but I really think you'll be into this match. So at the time Arik and Heidi are in a relationship and that adds to the whole storyline which made the match. Cannon's struggle to go all in on his girlfriend evened the strength gap for Lovelace so she could really take control. The build to Cannon letting loose was timed really well with the crowd buying in the whole time. And this match had a strong finish that the fans lost their shit for. Enjoy.

CJD: Arik Cannon joins Ruby Riot as holders of both of our imaginary titles here. He doesn't exactly fit the evening the playing field theme of Forever Forward Fridays, however we are trying to stay indy wrestling focused as well and his career and this match certainly fit that bill. And I like when we cover some matches now and then with a bit more historical significance and this has that going for it. This is the second match we've featured at PIF between two wrestlers romantically involved at the time who split up down the line. Perhaps this should serve as a cautionary tale? But it made for great performance, both wrestlers told so much of the story with their facials and body language. Cannon was a great base which I feel like is a relationship metaphor waiting to happen. You're right that if I'm going to watch an intergender match then I'd prefer it to be story driven like this one, and this was really well done at that. Good pick my partner in crime.

The Anarchist VS The Nihilist

Arik Cannon VS Sabu - Heavy On Wrestling 3/23/2013

CJD: Cannon does so much, so so much, to make this match as good as it is. And this isn't just a nostalgia fest, this is legitimately a really good match, way better than I expected. I would have loved to dive into Cannon's underrated feud with Hero instead but I'm almost more excited to watch a great Sabu performance from 2013. So what is it about Arik Cannon? He almost reminds me of Matt Borne, where you look at him and you don't see much. Then you see him in a wrestling ring and it looks like there's nowhere else in the world he belongs. He's the type of guy that just makes things click and just like Borne his career probably won't get the attention it deserves. But in the long run what's more punk rock than that?

JJZ: He came down to his ECW music!!! Fuck man. Legit happiness when I saw this match. With Sabu's age I'm shocked this made the cut. This has such an ECW feel! Cannon would of fit perfectly. Could have slid right in with Balls and Axl. Sabu's chair throwing is insane. So much could go wrong. Missed spot by Cannon when he threw the chair and after it hit Sabu it unfolded and was set up to sit down. I would of took a seat. Super enjoyable match man. And I'm telling you right now!! I'm picking an ECW match for my Sabu match!

The First Rule Of Dark City Fight Club

Jon Davis VS Arik Cannon - Dragon Gate USA 9/9/2011

JJZ: The quality ain't great but I thought "the best right hand in professional wrestling" needed a title run.  The way I feel about Cannon is the way you feel about Eddie Edwards. And since I always considered Arik one of your guys I thought it was fitting to pick him. Similar story with your match of hometown guy VS the heel. Jon again does a great job of pulling sympathy for the crowd while Arik does the little things well to gain heat. I'm not sure were this fell on the card but I think it would of been a great opener. Everything was hit crisp and tight. Hope Pinky Sanchez is okay after that bump!

CJD: No wasted motion is an expression that gets overused in pro wrestling. I saw Davis waste some motion here and there. But really there wasn't much of it in this match. It flew by but didn't feel short by any means and every minute meant something. Cannon is so underrated, he's definitely a CJD guy. I'll talk about him more next week when he technically gets the strap but suffice to say I'm happy to deep dive into his matchography. While we're at it the Dirty Ugly Fucks were a really great little stable that never really went anywhere. And as for Davis, he might be our least likely champ yet, but I really dug his two straight up babyface ass kicker performances. In an era where everyone wants to fly or be a mat general I'll still gladly take a brute strength bad ass. And the VQ, while rough at first glance, didn't even register with me by the end. But we did come from the VHS tape trading generation after all.