UWF Capital Punishment II

1. AJ Styles vs. Joey Matthews - 6
2. David Young and Daffney vs. Jake Manning and Gail Kim - 3
3. Senshi vs. Ruckus - 4
4. Abyss vs. D-Lo Brown - 4
5. Team Sgt. Slaughter (Dustin Rhodes, Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, Kirby Mack and TJ Mack) vs. Team JBL (CW Anderson, Steve Corino, Hernandez, Homicide, and Elix Skipper) - UnCivil War Double Ring Double Cage Match - 5

I’ll start by saying I really enjoyed this show. I’d seen a different UWF show awhile back that took place in the old, original ECW Arena, and it had a completely different vibe to it. They brought out the Dudleys in an attempt to do a brawl that’d capture some of the old magic but it failed miserably. This show, though, is done in Richmond, Virginia, in a packed house in front of a raucous crowd, and feels like the sort of “fun” independent show that’s becoming increasingly harder to find.

Styles and Matthews worked a really snug, physical match, reminiscent of ROH-fare except sans the pretentiousness. It started with some in-ring mic work to put some heat on it, but after that, both guys just brought their best stuff and complimented each other well. The mixed tag match wasn’t anything too special, but going back to that “old school” independent vibe, it fit nicely and was enjoyable for the live crowd. Manning is working a “Man Scout” gimmick, that is, a grown version of a boy scout—it’s as ludicrous as it sounds, but even his goofy park ranger-like attire couldn’t distract me from Daffney. Now, pardon me, for sounding like a cliché male pig, but I found it difficult not focusing on Daffney, largely due to having just finished an episode of TNA TV beforehand, where she’s slimmed down and is quite petite; but here, she’s rocking a huge ghetto booty and magnificent, voluptuous fun bags that’d smother even the bravest of souls.

Moving on, my boy Senshi, a true favorite of mine, had a pretty good outing with Ruckus. Senshi, while an awesome worker, is like everyone else, in that, you’re only as good as your opponent. Here, he’s got perpetually stoned slacker Ruckus, who didn’t bring his best stuff. I preferred Ruckus before his stint in CZW, when he was a chubby dude doing outrageous bumps in his neighborhood backyard federation, which I’d occasionally see clips of and boisterously laugh about. Senshi works at his own pace and methodically gets a victory and a good, yet not recommendable bout. Abyss and D-Lo are next, and also fall just short of the recommended category, but that’s not to say their match wasn’t good as I enjoyed it. It got more time than certainly Abyss was used to utilizing, given TNA demands, which really went far in making it not just another forgettable match.

The main event, I’m not going to try and sell as great, but given how many really, really bad “War Games”-style cage matches I’ve seen, this one is actually not bad. Starts with two guys, then one man enters from the heel team, then from the face team, etc. Certain guys in here obviously aren’t going to offer up a lot, like Corino, Skipper, etc. But, there is plenty of fun to be had, as both of the Mack bros. bump big throughout, Homicide is a blast watching cause trouble, Hernandez is killing people (including launching one of the Mack bros. with a powerbomb from one ring into the other), the Steiner bros. are dumping people on their heads, there’s some blood, etc. All in all, a good main event, not terribly overbooked (like the MLW “War Games” I watched last year) and sent the fans home happy from an overall entertaining show.