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PWR Live Kingdom Come: Full results and review
PWR came back from a brief off-season with fresh moves and intriguing developments that made an interesting first quarter for the promotion.
The Ballad of the Trabajadores, Part II (RevoRanger vs. Tres; Quatro vs. Vintendo)
After suffering a stroke due to Quatro’s betrayal, Trabajador Supremo came back to the Power Mac Center Spotlight to show the fallen trabajador how things were done.
This being The Council of Trabajadores, showing Quatro how things were done involved Trabajador Tres losing to RevoRanger.
But Quatro was not tempted to return to the Council’s losing ways.
In what was so far Vintendo’s best match, the Raging Gamer embraced the power his size implied by bodily throwing Quatro around.
But this was not enough to deter Quatro, who further cemented his position as PWR’s best athlete and seized his second victory via Destino.
This story still has wings as Quatro still has to prove that he, the light that shone twice as bright, can last for more than two shows.
Mahabang Usapan
Rederick Mahaba’s talk show served yet again as a summary for the matches Team Sebastian — John Sebastian, Ralph Imabayashi, Jake De Leon, Peter Versoza, and Mahaba — have for “Kingdom Come.”
And an opportunity to shill for their snack sponsor.
It also gave Imabayashi time to ask Mahaba, his partner, to be the referee for his title match against Chris Panzer in a speech that showed real improvement in Imabayashi's mic skills.
Ralph Imabayashi asks his partner, Rederick Mahaba, to be the special guest referee for his title match against Chris Panzer at #PWRLive #KingdomCome.
— Rie Takumi (@rie_takumi) January 28, 2018
(...a week ago, but I digress.) pic.twitter.com/ROVG1BtZ9N
The only point against this segment was the fact that not a lot of “good guys” spend as much time on the microphone as Team Sebastian does. It’s an imbalance that will hopefully be addressed in PWR’s next show, Holding Hands While Wrestling (HHWW).
PWR Tag Team Championship Tournament Round 1: Kakaibros (Kh3ndrick & Mh4rckie) vs. Zayden Trudeau & Bolt
The Kakaibros came into this match with nothing but winning in mind, after they narrowly missed taking the PWR Tag Team titles away from The Network in a three-way title match in November’s “Vendetta”.
It showed in the way the Kakaibros isolated Trudeau and Bolt from each other, and used their experience as a tag team. Even when they introduced new moves to individualize, Kh3ndrick and Mh4rckie picked moves that contributed to their overall style.
Because the Kakaibros kept the two apart for so long, Bolt tagging in Trudeau hyped the crowd up for the pair. From then on, Bolt and Trudeau slowly turned the tides on the Kakaibros until Trudeau hit the Desolé ripcord knee for the pin.
Bolt and Trudeau were victorious, but Kh3ndrick and Mh4rckie still looked like the better team. Not only are they an actual team and not just two guys put together, the Kakaibros moved like the men they were introduced as and didn’t treat their characters as an afterthought.
Hopefully, Bolt and Trudeau can work this out, because their next opponents will relentlessly grill them for it.
Winner: Zayden Trudeau and Bolt via pinfall
Robynn with Martivo vs. Crystal
From the bell to the moment they were both counted out, Robynn and Crystal released all the pent-up anger they’ve built since the latter’s betrayal at “Oktoberplex”.
The brawl eventually dragged in Martivo, who had his revenge on Crystal in “Vendetta,” and resulted in a fray that took most of the trainees around the ring to end.
The crowd’s prayer during the ensuing melee was answered when Robynn challenged Crystal to All Out War — a no-holds barred brawl reserved for rivalries that can only be sated by violence.
Other than having a story, Robynn and Crystal have greater in-ring experience, chemistry, and confidence in their abilities than they did when they had their first encounter at “Wrevolution X.”
This will hopefully affect PWR’s first female All Out War positively, and encourage PWR’s female trainees to work harder.
Winner: No contest
PHX Championship Open Challenge: Mike Madrigal (C) vs. Ken Warren
Left with no challengers after defeating Bolt and Trudeau, Madrigal issued a challenge open to everyone — except the Apocalypse.
The twist was, instead of getting the title, the victor of this challenge will get a chance to grab the title off Madrigal at HHWW.
Ken Warren, who served as a manager for The YOLO Twins for the past few months while recovering from a concussion, answered the call. He returned to cheers despite his last appearance as a cheater who didn’t care for the crowd.
The cheers were justified later when Warren reminded the audience why he was a former PHX Champion by matching Madrigal blow-by-blow in the best singles match of the night.
Unfortunately for the Social Media Sinister, Madrigal’s constant attacks to Warren’s head triggered symptoms from his concussion.
Madrigal picked up the win in the end with a tactic Warren may have used himself: a roll-up assisted by Madrigal’s feet on the ropes.
Madrigal remains one of the few wrestlers in PWR who can grab the audience’s full attention. His command of the crowd was well-matched by Warren and his uncanny ability to look like he’s nearly quite dead.
This combination made the crowd uncomfortable at times, but this only spoke to their ability to play the crowd.
This magic probably won’t end here, given the way Madrigal attacked Warren after the bell.
Winner: Mike Madrigal via pinfall
Jake De Leon vs. Brad Cruz
This was the first of four matches Sebastian set up after becoming the new General Manager in November to “cleanse” PWR of those he believes are unfit for his new kingdom.
Cruz was the first to fall to this cleansing for being a “Panzer pretender,” to the dismay of the crowd. Armed with a broom that he never got to use until later, De Leon attacked Cruz with gusto that was nothing short of comical.
To his credit, Cruz managed to fight back. At points, he countered De Leon’s patented Inasal Lock crossface chickenwing with a powerslam, and halted the Senyorito’s momentum with thunderous shoulderblocks.
De Leon undid all of Cruz’ efforts though by countering a senton from Cruz with an Inasal Lock, leading to a victory via submission.
Winner: Jake De Leon via submission
John Sebastian vs. Miguel Rosales
Rosales faced an almost-impossible task: He had to win against Sebastian, a former PWR Champion and his boss, to reverse his suspension as per his challenge.
He had to do so while keeping his temper in check to avoid disqualification, something Sebastian didn’t have to worry about as part of his stipulations for accepting Rosales’ challenge.
Sebastian given carte blanche resulted in, of course, shenanigans. Sebastian pulled rank on hapless trainees to have them hold down Rosales, among other things, and in one memorable moment, ordered the ref to jump off the ladder onto Rosales, who wisely ducked out of the way.
Rosales was also made to endure lashes from a leather belt, forcibly taken by Sebastian from a trainee, and hard slaps from the GM.
Thankfully, this seemed to put life back into Rosales, who blasted through trainees and the temptation to hit Sebastian’s face with a chair for a big comeback.
The action wound down to a crucial moment where Sebastian threw powder onto Rosales’ face, blinding him long enough to allow Sebastian to set up a Killshot.
Rosales, sensing Sebastian’s approach, got up and countered the knee strike to a Castigo Brutal (F5) to win back his spot in PWR.
In addition to giving Rosales the singles run he was long overdue for, this was the first match that showed practical applications of Sebastian’s power as GM, the other being the main event. It’s an interesting twist that will hopefully be used sparingly, but effectively, in events to come.
Winner: Miguel Rosales via pinfall
PWR Tag Team Championship Tournament Round 2: Trian dela Torre & Evan Carleaux vs. Sandata & Dax Xaviera
Dela Torre and Carleaux started off the match by mocking their opponents with the help of their henchmen, GrabCamus and Officer Tutan, who they’ve helpfully dressed as their opponent.
SANDATA and Xaviera were prepared for such a tactic, and came out with an offering of their own shirts for the merch-loving duo. Their teamwork extended to their ringwork, as they were able to answer Dela Torre and Carleaux’s moves with their own.
Sadly for the two, Dela Torre and Carleaux’s synergy enabled them to get SANDATA out of the way in the end and leave Xaviera open for a neckbreaker-splash combo aptly named “Buy Our Shirts Special."
Of note were SANDATA and Carleaux’s small, technical sequences that should catch the attention of more PWR fans.
Winner: Trian dela Torre & Evan Carleaux via pinfall
Shortly after their loss, SANDATA and Xaviera were caught off-guard and attacked by De Leon with the broom he didn’t get to use on Cruz.
Unlike his tiff with Cruz, De Leon’s business with SANDATA was personal. As he detailed in a later video, he felt that the masked warrior plateaued once he gained supporters.
For JDL, a man who sacrificed the support of his fans to embrace his role as Mr. Philippine Wrestling, this support should have willed SANDATA to step-up his game instead of settling for a happy medium.
SANDATA took this as a wake-up call and a challenge — to prove that he can continue to climb the ranks of Philippine wrestling without sacrificing his virtues like JDL.
He will not have Xaviera on his side as his tag partner suffered an arm injury that will sideline him for two months.
Peter Versoza vs. Martivo
An evergreen statement: Versoza is interesting when he's antagonizing someone. And in this third Sebastian-sanctioned match, Versoza unleashed his full unpleasantness to turn even the most hesitant audience member into a Martivo fan.
His villainy certainly struck a chord with the crowd, as his homophobic remark against Martivo and his fans earned him a faceful of pop at some point in the match.
Martivo did not let things go one-sided for too long. Certainly lighter on his feet than in his last outing, Martivo fought Versoza’s incredible strength with his awareness of the other man’s movement and how to work it to his advantage.
The match went on a long time, during which there were missteps on part of both performers. But neither took away much from the average match, which ended with Versoza hitting a Karne Norte (double knee Gutbuster) out of nowhere for the win.
Winner: Peter Versoza via pinfall
Perhaps one of the more glaring slights this match had was the underwhelming effect of Versoza’s 450 senton. Instead of setting up the Karne Norte that ended the match, it ended up as a lead-in to a failed pedigree attempt.
It is, however, a welcome addition to Versoza’s repertoire that he will surely get more comfortable with in time.
Two out of Three Falls, PWR Tag Team Championship: The Network (Alexander Belmonte III & James "Lodi" Martinez) (C) vs. The YOLO Twins (Logan Ollores & Yohann Ollores)
Rivaling Madrigal-Warren in intensity, The Network and The YOLO Twins brought their A-Game to “Kingdom Come” and set a high standard for the winners’ challenger-to-be.
The match started with Logan trying to match up with ABIII before luring him into an ambush with Yohann. ABIII was kept down until Martinez swooped in, only for him to fall for a Two-Night Stand to give the Twins the first pin.
ABIII rallied back but was taken out by a lowblow from Yohann, which in turn gave The Network the second fall via disqualification.
Logan and Yohann swapped here on out to dismantle ABIII’s leg, taking out his power. At one point, ABIII managed to get to his corner, but was pulled back in again to another single leg crab.
His second comeback also failed, as he was too tired to follow up his moves. What little strength ABIII had left he used to get past the Twins again to make the tag to Martinez.
Surprisingly, Martinez worked as well as a hot tag. He came at the Twins with bronco busters and forearms aplenty until Logan ended the streak with an amazing suplex counter.
At this point, the two teams teased back-to-back attempts at their finishers enough times to leave the crowd too hot to do anything but watch and scream.
The finishing stretch paid off the aerosol can Martinez used for The Network’s entrance. A quick spray on Yohann’s face while the referee checked on a downed ABIII allowed Martinez to confuse Yohann enough to hit a Two Night Stand with Martinez on Logan, giving The Network the third pin to retain their titles.
Winner: The Network via pinfall
The conspicuous absence of the Twins from Warren’s match, and vice versa, was addressed in a backstage event.
It remains to be seen if their partnership will hold up, or if Warren will go off on his own again.
The Apocalypse vs. McKata
Quick and painless, this made a slight ping on the radar after McKata pointed out that the Apocalypse was merely a man underneath the mask.
McKata also correctly pointed out that Apocalypse lost his mystique the moment he became the first All-Out War Champion by winning against Dela Torre at “Bakbakan sa Bayanihan” in July.
He scored three when he called attention to Apocalypse losing the title in his first title defense against a conspicuously absent Vlad Sinnsyk in “Vendetta.”
None of this mattered when Apocalypse hit McKata with an uneven Death Bell (sheer-drop fireman’s driver) to pin the rapper.
Winner: The Apocalypse via pinfall
McKata’s point still stands, despite his loss. How will Apocalypse become the monster he once was again when he’s been nothing but a mortal in months?
PWR Championship: Chris Panzer (C) vs. Ralph Imabayashi
The crowd was saved from answering this question by the main event.
After a hilarious intro from Mahaba, Panzer and Imabayashi set out to work with a nifty chain sequence that ended in a demonstration of Mahaba’s bias against Panzer. Slow counts, pull-offs at the smallest infractions, it’s made clear that Panzer will struggle against Imabayashi.
And struggle, he did. Panzer was consistently brought to the brink of losing by Imabayashi, who used everything from the corner post to Mahaba’s laxness to his advantage. Panzer eventually silenced Mahaba with a Panzerschreck (running bicycle kick) to allow a neutral referee to replace Mahaba.
But Mahaba came back later, ending Panzer's chances at winning when he assaulted the referee just as Imabayashi was about to tap out to Panzer’s anaconda vise.
Panzer had a brief hope spot in the end when he survived a shot to the face with the PWR title belt, but a hastily applied Senketsu (Gotch-style piledriver) from Imabayashi allowed the challenger to take the win.
The true winners of this match were Panzer and Imabayashi’s facial expressions and Mahaba as the guest referee.
Mahaba managed to play the role of a scumbag referee without taking away from Panzer and Imabayashi’s offense too much. What the two couldn’t convey in action was channeled through their faces.
Imabayashi’s sadism was great to watch, as was his disbelief reflecting on Mahaba’s face at Panzer’s miraculous kickouts.
Panzer, on the other hand, remains a great hero in distress, as seen in the way his face crumples at Mahaba’s meddlings to convincingly looking like he’s an inch away from passing out.
It’s not the best match of either man’s career, simply because of the stipulation. It did, however, conclude a chapter in both men’s stories: in the course of Panzer losing the belt that began his transformation, Imabayashi avenged the defeat at Panzer’s hands that lead to his moment in “Kingdom Come.”
Winner: Ralph Imabayashi via pinfall
Before MTNH could truly celebrate, Rosales came out to aid Panzer. The brawl restarted backstage and lead to Panzer crashing down a stairwell.
Panzer’s back injury will take him out for at least two months, leaving Rosales with none of his former Team Sy buddies free to back him up in what seems to be a continued quest against Sebastian’s injustices. — GMA News
