DEFY Tag Team Championship
Into the Fire
May 10th, 2019
Seattle Washington
Back in March at Wrestle Summit in L.A., Warbeast defeated DEFY tag team Champions the 1%. On Friday, May 10th Warbeast made their Washington Hall debut and their first title defense since winning the DEFY belts. However, Warbeast was not content to simply put up the DEFY Championship belts, they also put up the PCW ULTRA Tag Team Championship, for a winner takes all!
For many in Seattle, Warbeast was an unknown tag team. They had never competed at DEFY before and for many, our champions were complete strangers. After Into the Fire this is no longer the case.
The crowd favorite was clearly the Amerikan Gunz, Ethan HD, and Mike Santiago. These home-grown gentlemen hold the distinction of being the very first tag team to win the tournament and become the Champions.
When the teams came out into the auditorium Warbeast loved rubbing the belts in the faces of the Amerikan Gunz. They did so both figuratively and literally. Ethan HD and Mike Santiago laid into Joseph Samael and Jacob Fatu as Referee Aubrey Edwards called for the bell.
Never in the history of Washington Hall has the DEFYANCE seen such a brutal and grizzly match played out before them. From the very beginning, there wasn’t a moment of respite from the carnage. While Ethan HD duked it out with Joseph Samael in the ring, Mike Santiago battled Jacob Fatu in the audience.
Rows of chairs were decimated. Audience member fled for their life! Security moved in from every direction to pull members of the DEFYANCE away from the action. Not at any point was there a slow moment. The fight continued on all fronts.
Jacob Fatu and Joseph Samael first introduced the chairs, but it didn’t take long before the Gunz retaliated. Before long the metal chairs were little more than fractured pieces of debris cluttering the ring.
After brutalizing Joseph Samael and tossing him out of the ring Mike Santiago set Jacob Fatu up. Ethan HD climbed to the top rope to execute a move. When all of the sudden Joseph Samael lunged forward and threw a burst of flames into Ethan’s face. The wrestler crumbled to the floor outside the ring. Referee Edwards called in support. Mike rushed to his partner’s side and then reentered the ring to make Warbeast pay for what they had done.
Jacob Fatu slammed Mike Santiago onto the mat and climbed to the top rope where he performed a flawless Moonsault onto his prone opponent. He moved in for the pin and got the three count!
WARBEAST retains and still the DEFY and PCW ULTRA Tag Team Champions!
Ethan HD was swarmed by security and crew, his head wrapped in bandages as they carefully escorted him into the locker room to receive attention from the EMT’s. Mike Santiago joined his partner and there was a sense that perhaps we haven’t seen the last of these two teams coming together in the ring.
This match was incredibly fast, hard-hitting and brutal. The DEFYANCE is likely to be talking about this match in the years to come. It will come as no surprise to anyone if this isn’t a strong contender in December when fans vote for their favorite match of the year.
Warbeast remains the DEFY Tag Team Champions and we will no doubt see them at Washington hall to defend their titles in the future. Who’s next? Your guess is as good as mine. One thing can be certain the folks behind DEFY, owner Jim Perry and Promoter Matt Farmer are going to search far and wide to find the best tag teams on the independent scene to give Jacob Fatu and Joseph Samael a run for those belts!
To read our preview for DEFY Wrestling Into the Fire click here. To read Philip’s review of DEFY Into the Fire click here.
