Forever Forward Fridays

CM Punk (c) VS Colt Cabana VS Eddie Guerrero - IWAMS Heavyweight Championship 4/19/2002

CJD: So I guess this fits the Forever Forward Friday mantra of celebrating indie wrestling. And obviously Eddie being Latino, and Colt being Jewish. But really I just wanted to watch this match. Part of me thought maybe I had years back, I've seen a bit of Eddie's indie work on this little tune up run. But watching it now I think this is new to me and many thanks to Colt for uploading it. What a piece of wrestling history in Dayton Ohio in front of 56 fans!! These guys absolutely went for it, even in a 3 way where it would be easy to phone it in a bit. Eddie's chemistry with these young stallions is remarkable. The raw youthful energy and determination Punk and Colt had was infectious. Prazak raising hell, an obligatory 5 minutes of Ian Rotten speeches at the end, this has everything you want or expect. And a blast of a triple threat match while we're at it!

JJZ: So I'm pretty sure this was played for us before but after watching it I can't remember any of it so maybe I'm wrong. Either way, I'll say that I thought this match was solid. There were some really nicely timed spots that were executed smoothly. But it had some awkward spots too that felt a little clunky. For 56 people the crowd was great in my opinion. Even with Eddie being there they were so behind Colt. With Eddie being in the match it would've been easy to forget about Colt but I felt like that never happened. The finishing stretch was my favorite part of this match. I couldn't remember who won so I really was popping for them falsies.

CJD: So we figured out after the fact why we both thought we'd seen this one before. We were thinking of the also very good IWAMS 3 way between Eddie, Punk, and Rey! So enjoy this vaguely familiar match that was totally new to both of us even though we weren't sure as we watched lol.

Forever Forward Fridays

Colt Cabana VS Shockwave the Robot - DREAMWAVE Wrestling 4/13/2013

JJZ: So I understand that going back to Colt so soon is weird BUT! If I had to list a top 10 most influential over the past decade, Colt would be on the list. The Young Bucks are on record saying that Colt taught them how to make money on the merchant side. I'm team Colt on the Punk vs Colt debate. So honestly, I was disappointed that you weren't crazy about my Swoggle vs Colt match. This isn't anything over the top. Just a fun comedy match that I hope beings a smile to your face. Both guys really work in this one. Enjoy my friend.

CJD: I'm so intrigued by Shockwave the Robot. Was it the same wrestler over the years? Are there multiple Shockwaves?? What was the end goal with such a gimmick, especially in the era they started when the indies were nowhere near as fleshed out? Did they ever hold a title anywhere?? Fascinating. The way the robot switches to normal wrestler mode in this match is a fun wrinkle. This was very entertaining. Colt was a bit prickish at times but it really worked well. I thought the obvious move for the spot after the match was to use an AED but it's probably wishful thinking that an indie in 2013 would have one ringside. But I digress, I liked this match. I wouldn't buy a Best of Shockwave the Robot or anything but I did thoroughly enjoy this sampling of their work... if this is the same robot as last week and not a totally different model, that is!

Forever Forward Fridays

Colt Cabana VS Swoggle - Zelo Pro 10/25/2018

JJZ: Colt Cabana has wrestled everyone. So my choices for this were endless. I scrolled through a lot of stuff and when I saw this Swoggle match I thought, well I don't think CJD would expect to ever watch this. The match is a silly back and forth with a lot of "OHH!" moments. I think it played good on camera but this would've been a joy to be live for. I totally popped when Swoggle came out for under the ring. Didn't see that coming at all. Hope this bout makes you smile like it did for me. For the people who think Funny don't make money I think you're wrong and I think matches like these add so much to full cards.

CJD: I do think funny can equal money, to an extent. I was really curious about this match on paper, which I'm sure is why you picked it with all those options. And Swoggle in a very unique way does fit our Forever Forward Friday theme. And I liked some of this match and laughed a few times. I didn't love this one overall though. Colt strikes me as someone who feels natural when he's actually improvising, but when he tries to sell something he has planned as off the cuff ("it's so far from it!") it comes off forced. That's probably confusing to read and I may be way off but it's the main thing I felt about this match. It felt too much like a badly written sketch and not enough like a funny wrestling match. All of that said, I have a soft spot for Swoggle because of AIW, and I did enjoy some of the exchanges. I'm kind of glad you sent this one over even if it wasn't my jam.

Forever Forward Fridays

Sammy Guevara VS Colt Cabana - Wrestle Circus 12/17/2016

CJD: Getting back to the indy focus of FFFridays. Although I did enjoy our roadside detour into Auto Luchas. I'll admit I didn't like Sammy the first few times I saw him. His charisma and bumping were undeniable but I thought he particularly suffered from a lack of guys on the indies at the time to learn and grow under. Well I know people have a variety of opinions on him in the ring but I do think Colt Cabana is a good learning tree to sit under and I thought both guys came out of this looking better for it. Funny at times but not a Colt comedy routine match, with Sammy showing personality but also playing a good straight man at times. Mostly this match gives you that living breathing indy atmosphere that's hard to capture on camera and man it makes me want to get out to a show.

JJZ: Baby boy this match was a joy! Getting to watch Colt really use his experience to school Sammy was a lot of fun. And then Sammy's athleticism to get his shit in made for one hell of a match man. You know I am a mark for Colt. Everything he has done for the independent wresting scene is incredible. I'm always rooting for him and in this match it was so easy to get his back. Sammy plays such a great little piece of shit. So when Colt shows him up I get a real kick out of it. I was highly entertained by this one mate.