Like one of my favorite concerts there were a lot of technical issues and the show started late, but by the end everything was so good that the delays didn't matter. Doors opened when the show was supposed to start at six, but they got us in pretty quickly and the venue was nicely setup and I got a spot right behind the front row of seats with a post to lean against. I had a great view for all of the matches and had a great time. I'd love to give a more exact thought of all the matches, but that's hard to do without rewatching the show, so it will mostly be vague ideas of the matches and how much the live experience helped.
Starting off with the two non-hardcore matches was definitely the right call and both were good matches, and after being used to a local indie with no big names it really set the night off on the right foot with Mathers and Treehouse both hitting dives and some big spots on each other. Treehouse's spinning legdrop off the top looked brutal as he fully landed on Mather's chest. A great opener that really set the tone for the show. Alex Kane vs Robert Martyr was cool because I'm a big Kane fan and he really got to dominate the match especially after winning by stoppage after an exploder into the corner.
After that we got to move onto the hardcore matches and what I was really looking forward to the show for. My local indie had Kelsey Raegan hit Zack Monstar with barbecue skewers to the forehead, but other than that it's been mostly WWE tv style hardcore matches. So the presence of lighttubes in all corners of the ring had me hyped. The first time a lighttube was broken I missed seeing it as it was a scramble match with brawling happening everywhere, but the sound is very intense in person. It wasn't too important in this match, but thankfully I was next to a post and when glass was getting broken in my direction I could duck behind it. The rest of the show was just a bunch of great moments of deathmatch wrestling with some good wrestling mixed in and I mostly loved all of it. The one downside of the show was AJ Gray being on the show. I was a big fan of his until all the allegations about him came out which ruined finally getting to see him in person. On the plus side Mad Man Pondo did a bunch of damage to his crotch including having a lighttube bundle kicked in into his dick and Pondo running his sawblade along his taint.
Jimmy Lloyd and Lindsay Snow never really got going as a match before 44OH! Attacked them. They did some fucked up stuff with the gusset plates and tattoo needles, but it just felt like they didn't really plan a match since they knew the run in was happening, which is a bummer, because I'm a big fan of Lindsay Snow. JJ Escobar's open challenge match was just crazy. Alex Xcean got a great reaction and there was a lot of crazy shit in this match. Obviously you can't really top Escobar getting a strip of firecrackers set off on his dick, but Escobar's follower jumping off the ladder in a lawn chair was also pretty crazy.
Best Bros vs. Joey Janela and Jamie Senegal was awesome and the match of the night. Janela seemed offended that this was a No Peace show with a ring and made sure that they never went into the ring for anything. It was hard at times to see what was going on during this match, but the venue didn't have a ton of chairs so it was pretty easy to move around with the match and watch what was going on which was always fun. I was excited to see Mei Suruga in person so the match already had that going for it, and if you think Mei looks small when you've watched her on tv she's even smaller in person. The match was a phenomenal blend of comedy and hardcore wrestling action and it never felt weird going from one to the other. I did mostly pay attention to Mei and Janela's fight as I'm more familiar with both of them, but with a chaotic match like that there were times when Senegal and Akki were right in front of me as well. I think the highlight of the match was from Akki when Best Bros did the tandem run up the wall bulldogs and he put a hole in the wall, which hopefully doesn't get them kicked out of the venue, because it's a nice setup. Janela picking Mei up in a vertical suplex and taking her all the way around the venue, out the back, and in again, before dropping her onto a couch was awesome. While Janela was moving the couches around earlier he almost hit a kid sitting in one of the couches which was pretty funny. Mei and Joey climbing onto the bar and brawling there before Mei knocked him down then jumped off and hit a hurrincanranna was awesome. Akki slammed Senegal on the floor then did a senton off the guardrail onto her and as he got up right in front of me he complained that it was a bad idea and I was thinking that the whole time he was setting that move up. The match ends up on the stage with two doors setup for the finish and the Dolphin Star Press through a table was very cool looking. Janela puts Akki through the other table and gets the three count. I should rewatch this, but in person this match was perfect and one of the best I've ever seen live. Just a fun match with crazy shit happening and it's the reason I spent so many words typing about it.
The main event had a lot to live up to following the craziness of the last match and while it didn't have the unbridled joy of the last match it has 44OH! Who the crowd always hates especially after ruining a match earlier in the night and attacking Marcus Crane's girlfriend. Shlak, Parrow, and Sawyer Wreck would all have the crowd behind them anyway, but the support was definitely amplified for this match. They start off like it's going to be a real six man tag match before 44OH! Hit Wreck with a lighttube from behind after everybody has had some time one on one into the ring and it breaks down into an all out brawl. The action is more frantic and harder to keep track of than the earlier scramble match as the six people in this match are more experienced and are more on top of their game. 44OH! Looked to be about to win until Zachary Wentz ran down and hit Cogar with a DVD off the apron through a glass pane and a door to let Parrow get the advantage and the win. Parrow tries to stand tall, but the lights go off and the Sinister Minister shows up and Su Yung hits the mist on him and Lord Krewe and Otis Cogar attack and put him through a door in the corner. A fun match to end the show and an interesting hook for No Peace going forward.
A very fun show to be at live. After all the action was said and done the late start didn't matter at all. Only one really stand out match, but a lot of fun stuff, although it being my first time seeing so much hardcore and deathmatch stuff live definitely added to the atmosphere. The crowd was super loud the whole time and I'll definitely be back at some point, but I won't be making the trip and hotel stay every show. I am looking forward to the next show on Fite TV though. No Peace Underground isn't the best indie going right now, but it's just got a different energy and might be my favorite one to watch. Very happy they found a new venue to bring their brand of wrestling back. It's worth a trip to check out because there's nothing really like it right now and Orlando has plenty of other stuff for you to build a trip around so you don't have to go somewhere just for wrestling you can build a whole vacation out of it.
