Intro post to understand why we are doing this.

Another 2CW show from Utica’s Field of Dreams Sports Complex. Taking place on October 21st, 2006. Folks…I don’t know anymore.

22. All Money is Legal (K Pusha & K Murda) v Killer Steves (Studly Steve McKenzie & Mr. One Night Stand Steve Kruz)

This is Texas Tornado match. Sure, why not.

I almost feel bad but all these matches fail to resonate in any form or fashion. The Steves kind of stink? I say that knowing that if I was going to every 2CW show I would tell you how they Know How To Work. A classic turn-of-phrase for they are boring.

Seriously, we do a dropkick off the apron to an opponent on a guardrail and instantly ranks as Doing The Most And Getting The Least out of a spot.

AMIL are honestly a fun team but they top out at a certain gear. Because I see them against the Steves constantly I can’t tell you if that is coming down to the opposition.

21. Johnny Law Donut Eating Open Challange

BY GAWD IT IS PETEY FROM UTICA AGAIN!

Honestly, that is probably why this segment doesn’t rank low as possible. It tickles me that Petey is officially the Open Challenge Guy. Doubly funny that Johnny Law is choosing the most “Eats A Lot Of Donuts In His Free Time” looking fucker in the audience. That is beautiful.
It is a worse version of the Steve King donut eating contest. Lots of the same stuff but dumber.

19. Jason Axe v Ajax820 2CW 102106

A handful of shows in, you start to grasp how thin this roster is. I can’t fathom watching the first bout and going “got to run it back”.

Anyway, this is about equally as good as last match. The only point of separation is this cool bump Axe takes in the corner. You’ve seen, flips into it and almost breaks his neck. A normal one. But one I love.

15. Slyck Wagner Brown v Isys Ephex 2CW 102106

Will start by saying, they didn’t need to nearly 20 minutes. On its face, I understand how we got here. I would argue these are the two most prototypical Good Wrestlers in the promotion. Not to say they are the two best wrestlers but they are what the audience expects to see in your three star+ matches. Slyck is a broader wrestler, the more athletic. X-Division like might be the best way I can boil it down. Isys “Does The Little Things” Ephex…does the little things. He has a big bag of tricks he can pull out to pop you but it is those moments right before the big moves pop off that draw you in. He’s great at doing a set-up>punchline.

Putting those two ideas of wrestling in there for 20 minutes ultimately shaves the edges off both. The wrinkles! Where are they?!

Can’t help but come away and think there was a damn good 12 minute match in here. There are some ideas that I can get behind. Isys does a wild flipping plancha early that can only be done by someone that is only borderline athletic. There is another moment, much later where instead of doing a leapfrog he jumps to the side and does a back elbow right to the crown of SWB’s head. Stuff like that in a more compact match where you can cram those more interesting spots probably works for me. Probably would have had SWB’s chops and powerbombs not feel like echos in a cave.

If that sounds like backseat booking or rating a match because what it isn’t, first sure. But when you see what they have been capable of, the sparseness can’t help but standout.

11. Gordy Wallace vs. Zachary Springate III 2CW 10212006

A brawl that doesn’t have a ton to it. What it does have, and almost makes up the entirety of the ranking, is sick frying pan shots from Gordy Wallace. I don’t rate ZS3’s wrestling all that much but taking a frying pan to the dome? He can hang with the best of em.

Oh, another entry into the “2CW’s tables don’t break” lore.

8. Dizzie vs. Dynamite Derek 2CW 102106

Not a good match but sometimes just working basic heel versus face stuff can elevate above others. It also works as great insight into most of the 2CW roster. And I understand what I’m about to say will sound mean, I don’t mean it to be mean but it seems like a fact through year one.
None of the roster is particularly talented. At least mechanically.

I assume all of these wrestlers are fed hundreds of hours of Triple H matches Clockwork Orange style and that is the training. The matches are about What the wrestlers are doing but rarely How the wrestlers are doing it. I’m also not an idiot, the average person is as enthralled by trading strikes and ending in a big suplex. I care about if the strikes look good and how they entered into the suplex. To me, a snob/idiot, that matters.

But I’m not against broad stroke type matches. Dynamite Derek is a serviceable heel. He looks like a sleazeball. Half the work is already done. Dizzie has offense that we can call “high flying” to a certain degree. Monkey flips, moonsaults, etc.. The big sin of the thing is tied into not being mechanically interesting, Derek’s workover lasting too long. If the workover was filled with nasty little violent work.

6. JD Love vs. Loca Vida 2CW 10.21.06

And with this, I finally tell you that no match on this show was “good”. You shouldn’t watch anything on this show unless you have decided you too would like to watch every 2CW match in company history. If that is you and you are not from Upstate/Central New York, speak to a loved one. They will help you.
I am from upstate NY so excited to tell you that JD Love is one of the best wrestlers this promotion has to offer. I’m less excited to tell you that he is never being put into positions to fine amazing success. Every strike that JD Love has some stank on it, he steps into them a lot like he’s Happy Gilmore. Loca doesn’t hold his end of the bargain where each punch and kick feels like they have training wheels on.

Loca does do this goofy Kofi-In-The-Rumble type spot where he jumps from the floor to the guardail to the ring apron to a springboard clothesline. Unfortunately, brings a stupid smile to my face despite how contrived it is. Sometimes you just want to see some dude jump around. Speaking of goofy, you also get JD working multiple spots with his bare, pasty ass out. Rubs that dump trunk right against Loca’s junk during a tree of woe. And yes, all of this makes this match the best match of the show.