Bar Wrestling 52: Bar vs. GCW

 

January 23, 2020

 

We’re in Baldwin Park, California. I dip in and out of Bar Wrestling. They book some tremendously wacky things.

 

RockNES Monsters vs. DeppenFly

DeppenFly is the much hated duo of Tony Deppen and Eli Everfly. RockNES are BHK (Kevin Martenson) and Johnny Yuma.

DeppenFly have some weird ideas about double teams. They abandon a double suplex, for reasons, and then fluke a double back elbow. I can see what they’re going for but instead of giving the impression that they’re an awkward pairing, they just are an awkward pairing. The match is full of odd ideas regarding spot work and selling. Deppen, when he’s on, is excellent. Everfly is in and out depending on whether his opponent is in position. The match is always close to being good but suffers from positional blips. Everfly gets double teamed for the loss.

Final Rating: **3/4

Chris Bey vs. Blake Christian

Blake is so far along for someone of his age.

Bey is hugely improved of late. We’re seeing these guys just before they break out here. This is super choreographed and Christian is clearly into Will Ospreay. Bey is clearly into Brock Lesnar as he dances around the ring in a sombrero. Blake goes for the Hidden Blade here but doesn’t connect. Interesting that he’s chasing that Ospreay match. I hope it happens for him. The match is a little bit sloppy with Christian failing to get Bey up for a running powerbomb, which is downright scary. When it does click it’s very good. Both these guys are worth checking out and I’m sure given two years they’ll be on everyone’s radar. Get on at the ground level.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

Rickey Shane Page vs. Eric Watts

This is not the tall son of Bill Watts but rather the tall California E Watts. He’s really good, has a solid look and has incredible size (6’6”/250lbs). It makes me wonder how he never gets booked anywhere else. California is a weird state. People don’t seem to break out of there as often as they should. In Eric’s case the name probably isn’t helping.

RSP isn’t popular. His GCW hating heel character bleeding through into Bar. RSP wins with a roll up and the crowd chant “don’t come back” at him. It’s kind of heel heat but this was also quite a bad match.

Final Rating: **1/4

 

Dirtiest Daddies (Chris Dickinson & Effy) vs. Joey Ryan & Taya Valkyrie

The Dickinson & Effy team is a strange pairing. It’s fairly typical of Joey Ryan’s mindset to pro wrestling. Dickinson doesn’t want to touch the dick. Effy thinks about it but opts for a spanking instead. The match has a secondary point after all the goofy shit, which is Taya trying to prove herself against Dickinson. They try and mix it up but Joey’s mat work is really sloppy and the match has some gaping issues. Mostly stemming from Joey’s silly dick psychology.

Dickinson ends up pinning Joey Ryan and I’m thrilled Dickinson was the winner here. Clearly the best wrestler involved.

Final Rating: **1/2

David Starr vs. Rust Taylor

Starr has a mixed reaction as he always seems to get in America. Rust Taylor is a guy who doesn’t get a lot of love. He had a decent run in PWG a decade ago but since then he’s been stuck in California. He wrestled a couple of WWE squashes last year and got to go to wXw in Germany so hopefully his career is back on track. He’s got the look and skill. Taylor isn’t on Starr’s level so when Starr is working his usual back and forth style he’s having to wait on Rust being in position. This happens in the corner and in the middle of the ring, leaving space where it shouldn’t be at all. Taylor being stuck in California has halted his development sadly. I know I put him over at the start of the match but his limitations are pretty obvious here. His strengths are a focus on body parts and mat wrestling. Whenever the two wrestlers are in contact with each other it’s much better. Big showy sequences don’t suit Rust. Blackheart Buster off the top finishes in a really cool spot. Best match on the show.

Final Rating: ***3/4

Nick Gage, Mance Warner, Jimmy Lloyd & Gringo Loco vs. Andy Brown, Dom Kubrick, Ray Rosas & Heather Monroe

Heavy advantage to Team GCW here with Bar fielding a bunch of locals against GCW’s ‘superstars’. Based on the participants you’d expect a wild brawl and that’s what we get. In clipping Nick Gage’s entrance you essentially lose the best part of his gimmick. With that part lost you have a lot of brawling. Jimmy Lloyd is the hero here. He throws himself into every bump, determined to put so much goddamn snap on those bumps that he stands out. They do a decent job of cycling talent in and out of the spotlight. Andy Brown gets a sit down fight with Gage. Heather gets a chair thrown at her by Mancer before mounting a comeback. It makes the match segmented and there are some weird oversells to set it up but it works. Lloyd, in keeping with his work here, battles to the finish and takes a wacky Canadian Destroyer in the process before getting pinned. God bless Jimmy Lloyd. He’s so giving. A modern day Mick Foley.

Final Rating: ***1/4

 

Overall:

You know what you’re getting into with Bar. It’s an easy show to watch but this ain’t Reseda and you’re not going to see a bunch of crazy workrate matches with Meltzer marking out at ringside and honestly, that’s part of the charm. Give me Bar over PWG any day of the week.