Mainstream 64: Zero Hour - REVIEW
Mar 22, 2021 21:13:00 GMT -5
Post by Biggs on Mar 22, 2021 21:13:00 GMT -5
Mainstream 64: Zero Hour Review
-Nice back and forth promo between Hammerstein and Cashe to set up a match later in the night. I did like the meat and potatoes of why Hammer's hanging up his boots, being a good father and husband & all, and nice touch with the Cartier T-Shirt. This segment does leave the door open for a return later down the line should he chose to come back.
- Nate Davies Open Challenge: Not being familiar with James Edwards outside of reading the title history, this was a very effective re-introduction. Showed his no-nonsense attitude, played up his importance to Mainstream's past, and proved he's a take-no-prisoners ass kicker. It'll be interesting to see how the UWL storyline bleeds over, but I hope it's not too reliant on one having to follow both shows religiously to keep up with it. Also, I popped for the Bobby Larson reference. He's my character, I'm allowed to.
- Man, that Biggs sure is a weasel, isn't he? (I don't review my own stuff, but always love feedback!)
- Sage Lowry being the mystery partner is a good payoff, and one that makes sense for the story being told, as Douglas rarely plays nice with others, so its just right that it's not somebody already on the roster. One of the great things about the Emerald City Squires is that it provides characters that can be weaved in and out of stories as needed, but this does feel like a promotion to the main roster for Lowry.
- Skye Healy & Maureen Phillips vs. Emma Douglas & Sage Lowry: Love the fact that Chris Madison was on commentary for this match. Helped sell two stories at once, the upcoming U.S. Title Match, as well as the tiff happening in the ring. There were a few nice sequences in the match, particularly the one where Healy and Phillips really got rolling and had their offense work off of one another. Tornado Tag Matches are notoriously difficult to write in a way that flows and makes sense, because the action never stops, and setting up believable pinfall situations without constantly resorting to “so-and-so gets clotheslined out of the ring” can be tricky. This match had good flow, and I think the commentary went a long way in helping keep that flow, giving the reader natural breaks in the action to digest what was happening. Well done by all parties involved.
- Damn good promo by Juliana DiMaria. When paired with her promo at Mainstream 63, there's a nice symmetry between the two, and the continued growing of confidence, the defiance that she belongs in her spot, that she deserves the success she is currently enjoying comes off in a way that is not cocky in the slightest, and further sells Julianna's face turn.
- JT Saint vs. Robert Zodiac: Solid little match, especially with the brawl at the beginning. Both of these characters are scum buckets, so this match was exactly what it should have been, a wild brawl with cheap shots and blatant cheating. A part of me doesn't like the fact that the chair shot wasn't the finish, but considering that JT has played a crafty guy who finds ways to win after getting his butt handed to him most of the match, I can buy him kicking out of a chair shot.
- McKayla's post match info-dump on Danielson missing and Pagan being seen with the Legacy Title (which doesn't count anyways!) was a bit cumbersome. I would have rather seen a brief segment earlier in the show with Danielson pulling up, acting all smug and arrogant with his title over his shoulder, and then after the Saint vs Zodiac match, have the camera catch Pagan in the rafters with the belt. The way it is feels rushed, and lessens the impact of it.
- I love how descriptive Eli's promo was. You can't knock Eli or the IA for lack of creativity, that's for sure, and this was a good promo to set up why Eli would be interested in holding the Mainstream Title (other than the obvious that it's should be any wrestler's goal to be the top champ), and it was humorous throughout. My favorite bit was the snake trainer being attacked by the anaconda, but the glib remark about how winning the title might get him laid a time or two was also darkly comic. There's a reason why the IA works, and it's because for all their supernatural shenanigans, their rules and world are fully realized, and don't come off as half-baked or made up on the fly.
- Desmond Creed vs. Bryan Ford: I hate to nitpick, but Desmond's sequences being written in the past tense and Ford's being written in the present tense makes for a disjointed reading experience. Also, the first two sequences are redundant, both being collar and elbow ties ups, with Ford's Forearm Shot seemingly being no sold. Outside of the rough start, though, this was an entertaining match. Of course I popped for Ford's UFO Frog Splash, but throughout the match, Ford's new attitude shined through. I like how Echo has been “getting involved” without really getting physically involved, putting the fault squarely on Ford's shoulders for him getting distracted. I'm very interested in seeing where the story between Ford and Echo goes, as well as seeing how Desmond Creed continues to integrate more with the Mainstream roster at large.
- JC Keeton's promo sells the character's confidence, but outside of a few random sex jokes a few weeks back, I don't feel like we've really gotten to know who Keeton really is beyond being a hot upstart. Is he supposed to be confident to a fault, or is he overcompensating for a fragile ego? Hopefully we'll get a story hook with Keeton soon to get an opportunity to let the character shine. What is here is well written, so I truly think it's just a matter of finding a direction for JC Keeton.
- Short and sweet promo furthering the feud between Ford and Echo, while hyping the TV Title match. Nothing groundbreaking, but it didn't need to be. Liked how Desmond was sold as a man of few words.
- A.J. Knight vs JC Keeton: Good back and forth action in this one. As somebody who doesn't regularly read UWL (there's only so many hours in the day), I don't mind that the fact that AJ is the UWL champ was brought up, especially considering the overlap in rosters, but it felt like the UWL World Title was not presented as big of a deal as it should have been. Obviously, the Mainstream World Title should be presented as the bigger deal in our fed, but I really would have liked a pre-match promo from AJ talking about how he won the belt, and how just because he had a grueling match to win the title earlier in the weekend, that didn't mean he was going to be easy pickings for JC Keeton. (Obviously said in a more heelish way, because the Franchise are a bunch of pricks.) The match itself was well done, there just felt like there could have been more done to sell the UWL Title.
- Cashe took the lead on writing the segment setting up another match between our characters, and dude already knows that I think he did a great job.
- Gosh darn can Manny cut a babyface promo! Love how respectful and honest he is, while selling the importance of the TV Title.
- Television Title Match: Mariano Fernandez vs Cyrus Riddle vs Echo Layne vs Bobby Larson: Holy smokes, the TV Title Match was something else! I only knew of Bobby's bits going in, but knowing the talent of the handlers involved, I knew this had the potential to steal the show. I loved the constant action and flow of this match up. Everyone looked like a star coming out of it, and it was just a fantastic read through out. The constant break ups, the counters and cut-offs, this was just flat out fun.
- Really good segment by Penelope and Bekah. It not being at the Hotel allows Eli's promo earlier in the show to stand out more while still having the trademark creepiness one expects from an IA promo. I do like how they described the split personality between Bekah and Leytrix, and I'm not gonna lie, I do kinda feel bad for having Biggs not believe in Bekah's transformation. Still, both writers know their characters so well, and it shows, and they sold the gravity of the upcoming match with Euphoric.
- Tag Team Title Match: Euphoric vs. Penelope & Rebekah Stevenson: I feel like a broken record saying that the action was fantastic, but that's the case in most Mainstream matches, as we have very talented writers. What really stood out to me in this match was how well Bekah/Leytrix's inner conflict came out without disrupting the match. It was organic, unforced, and helped fuel the story of the match. Kudos to all the writers involved. As for the post match, while it's neat to see more members of the IA, there was a lot of UWL cross-over on this week's episode, and while I never felt lost, I did feel like I was missing something by not regularly reading UWL.
- I am so ready for Manny vs. Cartier! Two of my favorite characters in Mainstream Wrestling! This promo was just set up, but I can only imagine how great their promos leading up to the match will be! Straight fire, yo!
- Hammerstein vs. Jason Cashe: Honestly, in a match like this, match quality doesn't matter that much. That being said, Hammer went out on an incredibly high note! This match was even better than their bout at the Mainstream 4-Year Anniversary Show, and even though it was pretty obvious from the jump that Hammerstein was going out on his back, it was a fantastic read. Classy move by Jason at the end to raise Hammer's arm. Enjoy retirement, dude, and don't be a stranger!
- The AJ Knight, JC Keeton, & Billy Danielson segment didn't seem to gel with the segment earlier in the night where McKayla Lewis did the info dump about Danielson's belt being taken. Did Danielson come to and storm in? Is he hurt, are there signs of wear and tear? What happened to Billy, and why isn't he acknowledging his missing Legacy Title? Also, which World Title are they referring to in the line “there is even more of freaks here tonight than before we have to keep an eye out for Bryan and make sure they don’t steal the World title... “? Is it the UWL World Title or the Mainstream World Title? I did like that AJ and JC had a moment of mutual respect, and that seeds may be planted for JC Keeton's future direction. Glad to see it.
- Mainstream World Heavyweight Championship Match: Julianna DiMaria vs Eli Buchanan: Good character work from Eli in the beginning by trying to play mind games with DiMaria. With her noted confidence issues in the past, blowing her off and treating her like she's not a bit deal seems like it would be the logical way to try to get under her skin. Once the action begins in earnest, it's a nice, hard-hitting affair like you'd expect for a world title. Descriptive with a good flow and clear story is all you can ask for in a Main Event match, and they delivered. Well done.
- The post-match I wasn't sold on quite as much. Having both Pagan and Danielson out there without any sort of acknowledgment of the Legacy Title situation seems like oversight, and it hurt an otherwise exciting segment. We all know that The Franchise and the Immortal Atrocities are on a collision course, but unless DiMaria is going to team up with The Franchise in a future match, it feels out of place to have known jerk Billy Danielson check on her. It would make sense to even out the numbers, as The Franchise is currently two-members strong with Blaze still missing. Unless the Franchise turned face with that segment (and that'll be a very hard sale to make if they did), it would have made more sense for them to just stay focused on the IA while DiMaria came to on her own.
Overall Thoughts
In-ring, Mainstream always delivers, and there was a lot to like in this show out of ring as well. However, excellence is in the details, and there were a few details that seemed to be skimmed over in the main through story of the show, which was the further boiling tensions between The Immortal Atrocities and The Franchise. The motivations by the Franchise seemed muddied, and not having a clearer picture of what actually happened between Pagan and Danielson really hurt the story. Both the TV Title and U.S. Title pictures are looking great, though, and there was a lot of great character work throughout. (Also, I wished there were a Skye Healy promo. Her voice was missed on this show.)
Match of the Night: My head says the TV Title Match, my heart says Hammerstein vs. Cashe. We'll split the difference and call it a tie.
Promo of the Night: Penelope and Bekah/Leytrix. A rock-solid grasp of their characters and who they are, plus good establishing tone of what the Leytrix/Bekah union is going to look like moving forward, makes for a winning promo. Honorable mentions go to Eli and Julianna for their main event level promos as well.
Final Grade: B
-Nice back and forth promo between Hammerstein and Cashe to set up a match later in the night. I did like the meat and potatoes of why Hammer's hanging up his boots, being a good father and husband & all, and nice touch with the Cartier T-Shirt. This segment does leave the door open for a return later down the line should he chose to come back.
- Nate Davies Open Challenge: Not being familiar with James Edwards outside of reading the title history, this was a very effective re-introduction. Showed his no-nonsense attitude, played up his importance to Mainstream's past, and proved he's a take-no-prisoners ass kicker. It'll be interesting to see how the UWL storyline bleeds over, but I hope it's not too reliant on one having to follow both shows religiously to keep up with it. Also, I popped for the Bobby Larson reference. He's my character, I'm allowed to.
- Man, that Biggs sure is a weasel, isn't he? (I don't review my own stuff, but always love feedback!)
- Sage Lowry being the mystery partner is a good payoff, and one that makes sense for the story being told, as Douglas rarely plays nice with others, so its just right that it's not somebody already on the roster. One of the great things about the Emerald City Squires is that it provides characters that can be weaved in and out of stories as needed, but this does feel like a promotion to the main roster for Lowry.
- Skye Healy & Maureen Phillips vs. Emma Douglas & Sage Lowry: Love the fact that Chris Madison was on commentary for this match. Helped sell two stories at once, the upcoming U.S. Title Match, as well as the tiff happening in the ring. There were a few nice sequences in the match, particularly the one where Healy and Phillips really got rolling and had their offense work off of one another. Tornado Tag Matches are notoriously difficult to write in a way that flows and makes sense, because the action never stops, and setting up believable pinfall situations without constantly resorting to “so-and-so gets clotheslined out of the ring” can be tricky. This match had good flow, and I think the commentary went a long way in helping keep that flow, giving the reader natural breaks in the action to digest what was happening. Well done by all parties involved.
- Damn good promo by Juliana DiMaria. When paired with her promo at Mainstream 63, there's a nice symmetry between the two, and the continued growing of confidence, the defiance that she belongs in her spot, that she deserves the success she is currently enjoying comes off in a way that is not cocky in the slightest, and further sells Julianna's face turn.
- JT Saint vs. Robert Zodiac: Solid little match, especially with the brawl at the beginning. Both of these characters are scum buckets, so this match was exactly what it should have been, a wild brawl with cheap shots and blatant cheating. A part of me doesn't like the fact that the chair shot wasn't the finish, but considering that JT has played a crafty guy who finds ways to win after getting his butt handed to him most of the match, I can buy him kicking out of a chair shot.
- McKayla's post match info-dump on Danielson missing and Pagan being seen with the Legacy Title (which doesn't count anyways!) was a bit cumbersome. I would have rather seen a brief segment earlier in the show with Danielson pulling up, acting all smug and arrogant with his title over his shoulder, and then after the Saint vs Zodiac match, have the camera catch Pagan in the rafters with the belt. The way it is feels rushed, and lessens the impact of it.
- I love how descriptive Eli's promo was. You can't knock Eli or the IA for lack of creativity, that's for sure, and this was a good promo to set up why Eli would be interested in holding the Mainstream Title (other than the obvious that it's should be any wrestler's goal to be the top champ), and it was humorous throughout. My favorite bit was the snake trainer being attacked by the anaconda, but the glib remark about how winning the title might get him laid a time or two was also darkly comic. There's a reason why the IA works, and it's because for all their supernatural shenanigans, their rules and world are fully realized, and don't come off as half-baked or made up on the fly.
- Desmond Creed vs. Bryan Ford: I hate to nitpick, but Desmond's sequences being written in the past tense and Ford's being written in the present tense makes for a disjointed reading experience. Also, the first two sequences are redundant, both being collar and elbow ties ups, with Ford's Forearm Shot seemingly being no sold. Outside of the rough start, though, this was an entertaining match. Of course I popped for Ford's UFO Frog Splash, but throughout the match, Ford's new attitude shined through. I like how Echo has been “getting involved” without really getting physically involved, putting the fault squarely on Ford's shoulders for him getting distracted. I'm very interested in seeing where the story between Ford and Echo goes, as well as seeing how Desmond Creed continues to integrate more with the Mainstream roster at large.
- JC Keeton's promo sells the character's confidence, but outside of a few random sex jokes a few weeks back, I don't feel like we've really gotten to know who Keeton really is beyond being a hot upstart. Is he supposed to be confident to a fault, or is he overcompensating for a fragile ego? Hopefully we'll get a story hook with Keeton soon to get an opportunity to let the character shine. What is here is well written, so I truly think it's just a matter of finding a direction for JC Keeton.
- Short and sweet promo furthering the feud between Ford and Echo, while hyping the TV Title match. Nothing groundbreaking, but it didn't need to be. Liked how Desmond was sold as a man of few words.
- A.J. Knight vs JC Keeton: Good back and forth action in this one. As somebody who doesn't regularly read UWL (there's only so many hours in the day), I don't mind that the fact that AJ is the UWL champ was brought up, especially considering the overlap in rosters, but it felt like the UWL World Title was not presented as big of a deal as it should have been. Obviously, the Mainstream World Title should be presented as the bigger deal in our fed, but I really would have liked a pre-match promo from AJ talking about how he won the belt, and how just because he had a grueling match to win the title earlier in the weekend, that didn't mean he was going to be easy pickings for JC Keeton. (Obviously said in a more heelish way, because the Franchise are a bunch of pricks.) The match itself was well done, there just felt like there could have been more done to sell the UWL Title.
- Cashe took the lead on writing the segment setting up another match between our characters, and dude already knows that I think he did a great job.
- Gosh darn can Manny cut a babyface promo! Love how respectful and honest he is, while selling the importance of the TV Title.
- Television Title Match: Mariano Fernandez vs Cyrus Riddle vs Echo Layne vs Bobby Larson: Holy smokes, the TV Title Match was something else! I only knew of Bobby's bits going in, but knowing the talent of the handlers involved, I knew this had the potential to steal the show. I loved the constant action and flow of this match up. Everyone looked like a star coming out of it, and it was just a fantastic read through out. The constant break ups, the counters and cut-offs, this was just flat out fun.
- Really good segment by Penelope and Bekah. It not being at the Hotel allows Eli's promo earlier in the show to stand out more while still having the trademark creepiness one expects from an IA promo. I do like how they described the split personality between Bekah and Leytrix, and I'm not gonna lie, I do kinda feel bad for having Biggs not believe in Bekah's transformation. Still, both writers know their characters so well, and it shows, and they sold the gravity of the upcoming match with Euphoric.
- Tag Team Title Match: Euphoric vs. Penelope & Rebekah Stevenson: I feel like a broken record saying that the action was fantastic, but that's the case in most Mainstream matches, as we have very talented writers. What really stood out to me in this match was how well Bekah/Leytrix's inner conflict came out without disrupting the match. It was organic, unforced, and helped fuel the story of the match. Kudos to all the writers involved. As for the post match, while it's neat to see more members of the IA, there was a lot of UWL cross-over on this week's episode, and while I never felt lost, I did feel like I was missing something by not regularly reading UWL.
- I am so ready for Manny vs. Cartier! Two of my favorite characters in Mainstream Wrestling! This promo was just set up, but I can only imagine how great their promos leading up to the match will be! Straight fire, yo!
- Hammerstein vs. Jason Cashe: Honestly, in a match like this, match quality doesn't matter that much. That being said, Hammer went out on an incredibly high note! This match was even better than their bout at the Mainstream 4-Year Anniversary Show, and even though it was pretty obvious from the jump that Hammerstein was going out on his back, it was a fantastic read. Classy move by Jason at the end to raise Hammer's arm. Enjoy retirement, dude, and don't be a stranger!
- The AJ Knight, JC Keeton, & Billy Danielson segment didn't seem to gel with the segment earlier in the night where McKayla Lewis did the info dump about Danielson's belt being taken. Did Danielson come to and storm in? Is he hurt, are there signs of wear and tear? What happened to Billy, and why isn't he acknowledging his missing Legacy Title? Also, which World Title are they referring to in the line “there is even more of freaks here tonight than before we have to keep an eye out for Bryan and make sure they don’t steal the World title... “? Is it the UWL World Title or the Mainstream World Title? I did like that AJ and JC had a moment of mutual respect, and that seeds may be planted for JC Keeton's future direction. Glad to see it.
- Mainstream World Heavyweight Championship Match: Julianna DiMaria vs Eli Buchanan: Good character work from Eli in the beginning by trying to play mind games with DiMaria. With her noted confidence issues in the past, blowing her off and treating her like she's not a bit deal seems like it would be the logical way to try to get under her skin. Once the action begins in earnest, it's a nice, hard-hitting affair like you'd expect for a world title. Descriptive with a good flow and clear story is all you can ask for in a Main Event match, and they delivered. Well done.
- The post-match I wasn't sold on quite as much. Having both Pagan and Danielson out there without any sort of acknowledgment of the Legacy Title situation seems like oversight, and it hurt an otherwise exciting segment. We all know that The Franchise and the Immortal Atrocities are on a collision course, but unless DiMaria is going to team up with The Franchise in a future match, it feels out of place to have known jerk Billy Danielson check on her. It would make sense to even out the numbers, as The Franchise is currently two-members strong with Blaze still missing. Unless the Franchise turned face with that segment (and that'll be a very hard sale to make if they did), it would have made more sense for them to just stay focused on the IA while DiMaria came to on her own.
Overall Thoughts
In-ring, Mainstream always delivers, and there was a lot to like in this show out of ring as well. However, excellence is in the details, and there were a few details that seemed to be skimmed over in the main through story of the show, which was the further boiling tensions between The Immortal Atrocities and The Franchise. The motivations by the Franchise seemed muddied, and not having a clearer picture of what actually happened between Pagan and Danielson really hurt the story. Both the TV Title and U.S. Title pictures are looking great, though, and there was a lot of great character work throughout. (Also, I wished there were a Skye Healy promo. Her voice was missed on this show.)
Match of the Night: My head says the TV Title Match, my heart says Hammerstein vs. Cashe. We'll split the difference and call it a tie.
Promo of the Night: Penelope and Bekah/Leytrix. A rock-solid grasp of their characters and who they are, plus good establishing tone of what the Leytrix/Bekah union is going to look like moving forward, makes for a winning promo. Honorable mentions go to Eli and Julianna for their main event level promos as well.
Final Grade: B
