The Wrestling Society Xperience - WSXtra Episode One (1/30/07)
A three-way fray today! Hooray!
WSXtra - Episode One
Good day!
After a figuratively (and literally) explosive pilot episode, we arrive at the first edition of WSXtra. WSXtra is a web series that was made available on MTV’s website and their cable on-demand service immediately after the TV episode aired. These webisodes featured matches and segments that didn’t make the main broadcast. Essentially, this was their version of AEW Dark, but 15 minutes instead of 1-3 hours.
The interesting thing is that WSXtra is far less micromanaged by MTV than the television episodes, so the editing, while still there, isn’t NEARLY as insane. As a result, matches here resemble something close to honest-to-God wrestling bouts in terms of flow and production. I’m still not going to do the star ratings, but at least the matches should have a bit more time to breathe.
The show is hosted by ring announcer Fabian Kaelin and Lacey, a wrestling/managerial fixture on the indie scene. She had some of her greatest fame in storylines with Jimmy Jacobs in Ring of Honor, even being his muse for The Ballad of Lacey, one of the greatest songs in the history of recorded media.
We start off with highlights from the pilot episode, then we look at some more incoming talent, including That 70’s Team, The Filth & The Fury, Human Tornado, Team Dragon Gate, D.I.F.H., Scorpio Sky, Trailer Park Boyz, Keepin’ It Gangsta, and MATT CLASSIC. Classic will be exclusive to WSXtra, so we’ll have that to look forward to. I’ll go into more detail for each of these acts when we get to their matches.
Human Tornado vs. Luke Hawx vs. Puma
This is one fall to a finish. Tornado was a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla mainstay with a blaxploitation pimp gimmick, and he actually went kind of viral back in the early-mid 2000’s. He also had a tag team with El Generico, the name of which I will NOT be saying here. You can go ahead and Google that one. Tornado was a fairly talented high-flyer and actually ended up in Jack Black’s “Nacho Libre” film as El Snowflake. He’s also a bit of a transphobic dick, so that’s unfortunate.
The masked Puma is the current TJP of NJPW’s United Empire stable and WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic winner. He’s also kind of an idiot. Hawx spent some time in XPW as a young wrestler, but I mostly remember him as Altar Boy Luke in the Scramble Cage Melee match, his one Ring of Honor appearance. What a clusterfuck that thing was. He does consulting work for the Heels TV series and has been in several movies. Hawx is thankfully not a piece of shit, as far as I’m aware.
Puma and Hawx kick things off with some graps while Tornado hangs out in the corner. After a leapfrog sequence, Hawx shoulderchecks Tornado and hits Puma with an Exploder, called a ‘fallaway slam’ by Kris Kloss on commentary. Kloss is ASS at calling moves. Tornado hits a quick ‘rana on Hawx, then Hawx and Puma fight on the outside. Tornado then lands a HUGE somersault plancha on both guys. Puma fires back with a brainbuster and a slingshot senton, but Hawx breaks up the pin. Puma beats the crap out of Hawx in the corner, but he ends up taking a flip bump via an Irish whip.
After some outside brawling, Hawx hits a big lariat on Tornado and tries a COCKY PIN, but Tornado somehow survives. A long-delayed suplex gets two for Hawx, then Tornado fights back with a twisting clothesline. Hawx blocks a bulldog and hits a flatliner for two. Hawk lands a series of kicks for another near-fall, but Tornado hits a Christian-style backbreaker for two. Where’s Puma at? Did he die?
Tornado does his dancing corner stomps on Hawx and a splits kick to the junk. Hawx catches a kick and delivers a spinning sitdown powerbomb. Hawx ascends the ropes, but Puma emerges from the ether and dropkicks Hawx to the floor. Tornado soon hits a spinning enzuigiri on Puma and lands a twisting senton for three!
The Take: Yeah, you can tell the difference between this and what was on the pilot episode of the TV broadcast, as the stuff that would normally be forbidden, like kicks and strikes, were left in. It felt more like a real match than a collection of spots. It wasn’t a brilliant match by any means, but it wasn't bad. Tornado really got to showcase his character stuff and his fun offense. Hawx wasn’t super-exciting, but he worked well, and Puma was certainly there…well, except for the few minutes he wasn't.
The Vibes: Moderately decent vibes.
“The Southern Stomper” Luke Hawx challenges Human Tornado for next week’s Wrestling Society X!
NEXT TIME: On Episode Two of Wrestling Society X, we’ll have the aforementioned Hawx vs. Tornado match and 6-Pac vs. Vampiro for the WSX Championship! Also Three 6 Mafia will perform live do color commentary!