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PWR Live Oktoberplex: Full results and review

By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News

PWR’s penultimate show for 2017 did a fine job setting up the tension for November’s event, but it had enough moments of its own to be more memorable than the average “bridge” show.

Fuel The Hungry

Oktoberplex was the second PWR show to be staged at the Power Mac Center Spotlight at Circuit Makati, and it continued to benefit from the gorgeous set-up of the "black box"-style venue.

As seen in Sugod!, the lighting gave matches an almost-cinematic feel by highlighting every dust lifted from the ring with each slam and water spray, as well as giving entrances and several surprises their proper due.

If the reaction in certain sections of the audience is anything to go by, the videos remain great tools for introducing the roster to new and returning fans. The clips also gave more leeway for wrestlers to develop the personalities of their characters.

The Power Mac Center Spotlight gave the whole show a more professional look as a whole, giving PWR’s unique and intimate atmosphere a bit more of a polished presentation.

And with Yellow Cab sponsoring the next show, as certain people announced ad nauseum mid-show, PWR’s fortunes can only improve from here on out.

Hungry Built Cities On Wrestling

Two pre-show segments warmed up the crowd, but only one of them —  Kapitan PWR vs. Trabajador Quatro — was an actual wrestling match.

La Consejo De Trabajadores are the shadow, taking pins for the luminaries of PWR to make them shine even brighter. And so it was only natural that their leader, Trabajador Supremo, would be angered by a prophecy of a trabajador who will bring the council into the light.

This trabajador may very well be Trabajador Quatro, a young man who continues to improve and impress even with his perpetual loss.

Against Kapitan, Quatro showed more of his athleticism, bridging with the luchador and exchanging a handshake ala-Piper Niven and Toni Storm, and later letting out a kick combination ending with an enzuigiri and a dragon suplex.

 

Piper Niven and Toni Storm.
Piper Niven and Toni Storm.

Quatro would have won after this combination, but his brethren delayed his frog splash long enough to allow Kapitan to recover and win with his own splash.

While Kapitan was happy enough with the attempt to bring Quatro back to his feet, the Council brought their Icarus-like protege to his knees to remind him not to fly too close to the sun.

 


 

This surprisingly story-laden match was followed by PWR’s first rap battle, which saw McKata nattering at Vintendo until the latter lived up to his nickname of Raging Gamer and ended things with a High Score chokeslam.

Other than advancing their bizarre rivalry, the exchange barely gave anything else as it was a rap battle only in name. McKata painted Vintendo as a pariah without finesse and barely any attempt at cadence; Vintendo’s predictable physical response was a welcome end.

Match 1: The Apocalypse v RevoRanger

The Apocalypse dominated the first half of this bout with heavy strikes that tore into into RevoRanger’s right arm. With cleaner and harder-hitting moves, Apocalypse was easier to watch here compared to previous outings.

RevoRanger fought back by playing into his character, incorporating tokusatsu-style strikes and calling to his anime inspirations by asking the audience to lend him their power for a superman punch that felt right even if he used the arm his opponent has attacked for 90 percent of their fight.

But Apocalypse ultimately rendered the ranger’s efforts useless with a top-rope double stomp, aptly-named Six Feet Under.

Winner:  The Apocalypse

Vlad Sinnsyk spoiled Apocalypse’s victory whaling on the masked man with a Singaporean cane and laying him out with a muscle buster.

 

 

Sinnsyk claimed this was punishment: What did Apocalypse do to deserve the All-Out War title awarded to him back in Bakbakan sa Bayanihan, when he and others set the standards for hardcore in PWR?

Apocalypse would give his answer in lesser words later that the night.

Match 2: SANDATA v Mh4rckie

As distressing as it was to see SANDATA have his face scrubbed by Mh4rckie’s unsanitized hands, his sacrifice was not for naught.

Mh4rckie was able to display a better understanding of the crowd since his first match through simple but entertaining antics like subjecting SANDATA to unfortunate titty-twisters and a face scrub, and distracting the referee to allow Kh3ndrick to give SANDATA a lungblower.

Like a champ, SANDATA guided Mh4rckie through the action and his signature moves, ably planting his foe to the mat with an excellent midrope tornado DDT and countering the Kakaibro’s finisher with his own Kidlat for the win.

Winner: SANDATA

This was SANDATA’s second time tangling with a KakaiBro, as he handed Kh3ndrick his first loss in his debut in Resbak.

Promo: #TeamSebastian and #DearDarla

Before SANDATA could leave, PWR co-owner John Sebastian accosted him with an offer to reunite with his former Dual Shock partner Peter Versoza and be Team Sebastian’s fifth man for PWR’s first 5-on-5 Ubusan ng Lahi match against the team of General Manager Mr. Sy.

 

 

When SANDATA decided to defer his decision, Sebastian wasted no time going into a sorely-needed motive rant. His career, he explained, was never about championships; it was about power, and by seizing full control of PWR by winning in Vendetta, he’ll finally get his deepest desire — and supposedly give some of the power back to the locker room.

The rest of the segment consisted of Sebastian lambasting Team Sy and primping up his team. While Team Sebastian definitely entertained and gave a feel for the group’s dynamics, the segment’s length ultimately made the entire thing feel a little overwrought.

It did, however, allow for quite a number of plugs for Yellow Cab and a teaser for a “secret weapon” of a fifth member.

 


 

Match 3: Dax Xaviera v Peter Versoza

The previous segment allowed for a seamless transition to Versoza versus Xaviera.

It can get a little difficult at times to focus on Versoza even with his diverse moveset; there’s just something about him that repels attention, and it’s not because of his carefully-constructed, repugnant personality.

But P to the V was a PHX Champion for a reason, and his arsenal of varied strikes and suplexes kept Xaviera and the crowd under control. It also helped that he had MTNH at ringside to maintain his energy and give him a hand in keeping Xaviera down.

Xaviera embodied his nickname of Sagisag ng Sigasig by energizing the crowd despite missteps: a flat headbutt was made exciting by screaming with the crowd, and clotheslines after a weak opener were powered up by enthusiastic foot stomping.

He was able to harness this energy to sidestep Imabayashi and get him to hit Mahaba, who distracted the referee after Xaviera hit a spear on Versoza, to have MTNH thrown out and get a proper one-on-one match.

 


 

This transitioned to Xaviera ending Versoza with his Gotch-style neutralizer, the Balete Driver, after a feeble-looking Alabama slam.

Winner: Dax Xaviera

Match 4: Vlad Sinnsyk v Brad Cruz

Not even Cruz’ Looks can stop Sinnsyk when the latter’s on the prowl, as evidenced by the latter being unfazed by Cruz’ attacks and attempts at camaraderie.

Sinnsyk’s constricted moveset is greatly compensated when he’s immersed in his character; his cavity-deep chops have an extra oomph and the lariat that put Cruz down for the three count feels a little more vicious.

Cruz accrued enough goodwill with the audience to take this loss though it wouldn’t be remiss if he could get Sinnsyk over his shoulders properly for a fireman’s carry or move faster to make his comebacks look more convincing in his next match. He did, however, took the lariat that ended the match like a champ.

Winner: Vlad Sinnsyk

Sinnsyk continued to punish Cruz after their match but like a horrific avenging angel, Apocalypse displaced Cruz and nailed Sinnsyk with a flying belt shot before punctuating the attack with a God's Mercy step-up faceplant right on the AOW title.

 


Time will tell if this rivalry will live up to Vendetta’s name and culminate in All Out War for Apocalypse’s title.

Match 5, All-Canadian Classic: Billy Suede v Zayden Trudeau

Suede bid the Revonation a temporary goodbye by giving Trudeau the best match of the night, and his career, and one that gave the justification for his fellow Canadian’s actions later on.

From chops that painted Trudeau’s chest red to a crisp backdrop, and taking a faceful of foot to fly to an audience member, Suede kept the action rolling from the beginning to the end of the match, applying restholds sparingly to keep Trudeau on his toes and put the youngster through his paces.

 

 

Suede made Trudeau earn every strike he landed: Trudeau locked in the sharpshooter after dodging a shiranui and escaping a single leg Boston crab; he hit the deadlift German after triumphing in a rope sequence; he landed the springboard dropkick that he’s worked on since slipping on the ropes in Renaissance after struggling to put Suede in a corner.

 


 

The grind made Trudeau’s eventual win by landing on his feet from a shiranui and stunning Suede long enough for the three count all that much sweeter.

With the exception of McKata and Blackzilla, every opponent Suede touched ended up looking golden, though none may have benefitted as much as Trudeau as the youngster neither has the experience nor tenure of other Suede opponents.

Trudeau’s true victory here is showing how much he’s grown against a man who can make anything beautiful, and for his short tenure in PWR, emboldened the locker room to do the same.

Winner: Zayden Trudeau

Suede addressed the crowd after the match, praising the passion of Trudeau, the locker room, and crowd that made him stay in the Philippines for five months instead of his planned two.

His love and respect for PWR and the RevoNation was reflected back with chants thanking him and the whole roster coming out to bow the Beautiful One out of the ring.

Match 6, International Tag Team Showcase Qualifier: The YOLO Twins v Punk Dolls

Was it ever so good to see Crystal, PWR’s delegate to the Queen of Asia tournament in Singapore this October 20, wallop Robynn with a selfie stick.

This unexpected turn to the dark side made this nth match between the Punk Dolls and The YOLO Twins notable as it certainly wasn’t their best outing, even with the prize of facing Tengu and Doctor Hurtz of London Lucha League’s The Regime in Vendetta.

From their pre-match promo to the ring The YOLO Twins, for the first time in a long time, seemed unremarkable. They still generated despair from holding down Robynn but that trick has gone stale, especially since it exposes how the Punk Rock Maiden hasn't used the full potential of her improved physical condition.

Using eye-rollingly familiar taunts about Martivo's sexual identity also relegated Robynn further into a support role and belies the twins’ strength on the mic.

Perhaps putting her there makes up for her weaknesses, but it is tiring to see Robynn as the damsel in distress. With Crystal's attack, Martivo has a story in the future, but it’s unknown if Robynn will remain second fiddle to her partner.

A Two Night Stand from the YOLO Twins after Crystal's betrayal wins them the match.

Winner:  The YOLO Twins

Crystal’s sustained attack on Martivo was peppered with screams about his unforgivable actions against the First Lady of PWR, though it seems like the Revonation has to wait longer to find out what pushed Crystal to the edge.

 


Match 7: Fighters 4 Hire v MTNH

Prince Devitt’s tactic against a former MMA fighter worked as well as it did for Imabayashi, who donned boxing gloves to counter Rosales’ ground-and-pound game and ended up eating fists anyway within the first few seconds of this Ubusan ng Lahi preview match.

 

 

Apart from having compatible styles, both teams have talkers and doers that gelled well together. While Rosales and Imabayashi unleashed hell on each other, Mahaba and Bax goaded each other with quips that called back to Sebastian’s promo and other gags from earlier matches.

Although Mahaba going rogue stung, it’s clear in the way he helped isolate F4H by distracting the referee being a villain comes naturally to him. Bax also argued for his current position with a clothesline to a midrope slingblade and his assist in taking MTNH to Barangay Suplex.

 


 

Ultimately, MTNH’s dastardly ways had Mahaba pulling out a Singapore cane from ring to end a JDL-esque armlock from Bax and take Rosales out to allow him and his partner to win via a Sonic Crusher-splash combo.

 


 

Winner:  MTNH

Match 8: Bolt v Mike Madrigal

Bolt had a remarkable outing with Trudeau in last month’s Sugod!, and his non-title match with Madrigal here has him continue his streak of great matches.

Using his weight, normally a disadvantage — as shown by Madrigal catching him mid-air several times — Bolt was able to slip out of precarious positions to unleash spinning kicks and drops stunning enough to make all of his attempts at comebacks seem viable.

Madrigal, meanwhile, demonstrated how he won a three-day tournament for the PHX title. With his brutal-looking kotaro-crusher and quick counters of otherwise inescapable moves, Madrigal gave as good as he talked, and against a Bolt fixated on his performance, that meant a lot.

Though the match ended with a roll-up out of nowhere from Bolt, the little things in this match made it a must-watch. Bolt catching the referee’s hand before it hit the canvas for the three count, announcing his attacks until Madrigal got the bug and called out his own attacks, and Madrigal outjawing the crowd were worth the abrupt end.

Winner: Bolt

To no one’s surprise, the roll-up enraged Madrigal, who accidentally bloodied the Animazing Hero with a GTS that ended with Bolt landing his head against the PHX belt.

 


 

What did end up surprising the crowd is Trudeau’s rescue of Bolt. Emboldened by his win against Suede, Trudeau seemed keen on challenging for the PHX title next, though Bolt evidently had his sights set on the same prize.

Match 9, PWR Tag Team Title Match: The Network (Alexander Belmonte III and James “Idol” Martinez) (C) v TDTxECX (Trian dela Torre and Evan Carleaux)

It’s a crying shame that this match was overpacked with gags, because everything was in place for a great comedy match.

Whereas MTNH and Fighters 4 Hire struck a perfect balance between hilarity and action, this match squandered the resources it had by almost turning things farcical.

Having TDT and Martinez try and trick the referee with the same gag at the same time, setting TDT up for a literal ass kick, and reaping a scream queen-worthy screech from Idol before Carleaux roughs him up fit right in.

 

 

Putting the referee in a blanket after accidentally knocking him out and involving characters only fully-fleshed out in an online series not everyone watches, i.e. Officer Tutan and GrabCamus, to the point of leaving casual audiences out? Not so much.

At times, the gags also left wrestlers and actual wrestling out in the match. It is the strangest thing to note that Martinez, one of the best character performers in PWR, can actually be set aside, or that a potential banger of a match-up between Carleaux and ABIII can be abandoned for gag number infinitum.

There are moments that showed how much potential the match had, and the most striking example of this is the end sequence where TDTxECX outpaced The Network enough to allow Carleaux to lock in the Tech Noir.

One moment that definitely had its place in the match is the Kakaibros coming in to beat up Team Trian. This distraction gave The Network enough time to hit the Pay In and retain their titles.

Winner: The Network

Match 10, Lumberjack Match for the PWR Championship: Chris Panzer (C) v John Sebastian

A preview of Vendetta’s Ubusan ng Lahi, PWR’s first lumberjack match started slow, with Panzer and Sebastian attached at all times, whether through interlinked fingers on bridges or hip tosses, until Sebastian is tossed over the ropes to Team Sy.

 

 

It didn’t take long for chaos to erupt after that as Sebastian attacked Xaviera while Team Sy had their back turned on him. Both team captains unleashed their own high risk moves, Panzer with the pescado and Sebastian with a crossbody to lay out the lumberjacks and continue the match.

 


 

The crowd brawling here is controlled, especially when compared to Sebastian’s brawling with Versoza against Fighters 4 Hire in the months leading to Oktoberplex, and the restraint made the later in-ring brawl worthwhile.

Sebastian’s mouthiness complemented Panzer’s tendency to show everything on his face and body. The two also managed to keep things fresh between their trademark spots and called back to their long history.

 


 

Things came to a head when SANDATA rushed in after an in-ring brawl and shook Sebastian’s hand to be his team’s fifth man.

Inches away from striking Panzer on top of the post however, the masked warrior turned around to hit Sebastian with a Kidlat instead, allowing Panzer to hit the Eagle Splash and align himself with Team Sy instead.

Winner:  Chris Panzer

No Stopping The Hungry

The realization that they’re one team member short a month away from Vendetta took a toll on Team Sebastian and left Mahaba more than a little frazzled.

Meanwhile, Team Sy’s victory lead to Mr. Sy committing what is possibly the greatest mistake of his young life by accidentally signing a contract that gave the Kakaibros the right to challenge for the PWR tag team titles.

This understandably irked TDTxECX as the Kakaibros arguably led to their loss. Apart from putting Mr. Sy on blast, the pair even created a petition on Change.org for a rematch with The Network, far away from the Kakaibros.

It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the roster air their demands and settle their business in the last PWR event of 2017.

PWR Vendetta will take place at the Power Mac Center Spotlight on November 5.

Earlybird and barkada packages are available by request at PWR’s Facebook page and through email at pwr.tickets@gmail.com.

— AT, GMA News

Tags: pwr, wrestling
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