On Sunday, May 26th, Smash Wrestling returns to the London Music Hall in, naturally, London, Ontario. This represents Smash’s return to the venue after two months, and once again they will be taping for their weekly show on the Fight Network. Since it is a taping, it’s a given that Smash will present a compelling card, and that some significant events should transpire. The most prominent element of this show, and what appears at the top of the marquee, is that it represents the Smash debut of longtime ring veteran and former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJP. Here is our preview: for Smash Wrestling as they presents Get Your Fight On.
However, the overall card is very diverse, as it features many of the mainstays of the Smash roster, frequent guests, and several recent graduates of Tyson Dux’s Wrestling Factory. It promises to be a fun event where titles are on the line and some issues may just get settled. Fans in the area should make every effort to come out and watch Smash’s very best get their fight on as Smash Wrestling presents Get Your Fight On.
Preview: Smash Wrestling Presents Get Your Fight On
Smash championship match:
Tarik (C) vs. Tyson Dux vs. Kevin Bennett vs. Carter Mason
This fatal four-way match features quite a mix in its recipe. First, of course, there is the champion, Tarik, who has been very successful in defending his title over the last nine months against a variety of challenges. But while he has defended in one on one and triple threat matches, this will be the first time he has had to fend off four challengers. And one of them, Dux, is no ordinary challenger. Anyone familiar with Smash, or independent wrestling in Canada, knows Dux and is aware of his extensive experience. Add to that, he is a former Smash champion, and along with Tarik is one of the four Pillars of the promotion.
A wild card element in the match is Carter Mason, who has been on the rise in Smash over the last two years. He recently had perhaps his most notable victory when he defeated Jordynne Grace, who has been dominating the competition in Impact Wrestling. His career is in the ascendance, and winning the Smash title would strap a rocket booster to it.
And then we come to Kevin Bennett.
‘The Remix of Pro Wrestling’ has been agitating for a championship match for a while now. On this night, which falls very close to the one year anniversary of his wrestling on WWE’s Smackdown Live, he finally gets his chance. Of course, this rapping wrestler is not happy having to share the stage with two other challengers, but the chaos that tends to go along with four-way matches gives him the opportunity to employ his typical underhanded tactics. Perhaps he will take the opportunity to enlist the assistance of the other members of the Kevin Bennett Experience. In sum, this match should prove to be an exciting, dramatic display, and a title change is definitely a strong possibility.
Smash tag team championship match:
Halal Beefcake (C) vs, Fight or Flight
This is the other championship match on the card, and while it only features two teams, these tandems certainly present a contrast in styles. On one side, there are the champions, Idris Abrahim and Joe Coleman, two physical specimens who bring a strong power game to any match. Challenging them will be the team of Vaughn Vertigo and Gabriel Fuerza, who in contrast employ a high-flying style. The Mexican born Fuerza employs a Lucha style, even though he was trained in his current home town of Toronto.
‘Visionary’ Vaughn Vertigo is also very conversant in Lucha style (indeed, both members of this team were trained in wrestling fundamentals as well as Lucha by well known Ontario-based trainer Rob Fuego), so this team always brings excitement to the ring. Fight or Flight have been striving to make an impact in Smash for a while now, and this is their opportunity to ascend to the top of the tag team ladder (coincidentally, the two members of Halal Beefcake faced off against each other in a ladder match the last time Smash was in London). Can this young team overcome the two powerhouses carrying the titles? Or could this night prove to be a triumphant one for all members of the Kevin Bennett Experience?
Preview: Smash Wrestling Presents Get Your Fight On
TJP vs. Sebastian Suave
Since departing from WWE, TJP has been traveling all over the independent circuit, displaying his sublime technical skills and adept, opportunistic high-flying for audiences all over. On this night he will make his Smash debut, the first of hopefully many more appearances. Appropriately, he is pitted against Suave, one of the Pillars of the company who has appeared on every Smash show since day one. Suave is also a very skilled in-ring performer, so this should prove to be an outstanding display of ring prowess.
Of course, as with any Suave match, there is always the risk that regardless of the level of skill displayed in the ring the battle could be marred by interference from Suave’s advisor Anthony ‘Kingdom’ James. Suave and James have been having issues of late, but James is still lingering around, ostensibly to help boost Suave’s career but in reality likely doing what he can to exploit ‘The Endorsement’ for his own financial gain, not to mention maintain his own relevance. But barring any big disruptions, this battle will be one the crowd can greatly appreciate and will remind everyone of the capabilities of the two combatants. Will these two get their fight on or will one relent to their opposition?
Brent Banks vs. John Greed
This is a battle of two entrenched members of the Smash roster. However, while the promotion’s fans and independent wrestling fans from all over Ontario are well aware of what ‘Money’ Banks bring to the table, Greed has in recent months displayed a very different outlook. He has gone from the fun-loving man who shared drinks with the crowd to a brooding personality and most recently has behaved in a most heelish fashion. These two are well acquainted with one another in the ring, but one wonders if Greed’s new character will result in a similarly different in-ring style that will throw off his opponent. This match has all the makings of being just the first chapter of a longer story, one that will lead to future battles and ongoing animosity. We will see how it all plays out.
Preview: Smash Wrestling Presents Get Your Fight On
The Blade vs. ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey
Speedball has been appearing for Smash with greater regularity of late, which is a very welcome development. He is an exciting in-ring performer who maintains a very high pace throughout his matches, and the hard-hitting elements of his offensive repertoire are very convincing. He faces a big challenge in The Blade, though, because whether you call him by that name, or Pepper Parks, or even Braxton Sutter, what you are dealing with is a man with many years of ring experience. And now that he has fully embraced the character of The Blade, he has become much more vicious in the ring, not to mention underhanded. This match will prove to be very physical, and both men will feel its effects long after.
Preview: Smash Wrestling Presents Get Your Fight On
Kill/Screen vs. The Muscle and Violet Lee
The two members of Kill/Screen that will take part in this match, Scotty O’Shea and Anthony Gaines, have worked together quite a bit and have developed tag team chemistry. O’Shea also brings a wealth of experience to bear in his matches. By contrast, The Muscle and Violet Lee are teaming for the first time, and even combined do not have nearly the experience of the man sometimes called ‘Hacker.’ Indeed, Lee is a recent graduate of Tyson Dux’s Wrestling Factory, after only starting training there back in October of 2017.
The Muscle has a bit more experience and has performed in a Smash Wrestling quite a few times, but this new team should be at a definite disadvantage. Adding to that disadvantage is that the other members of Kill/Screen, Shane Sabre, and Mark Wheeler, are always lurking. The Muscle and Lee have taken on a formidable challenge here, but that could make it all the more thrilling a story if they were to come out on top. Who amongst them will get their fight on?
Preview: Smash Wrestling Presents Get Your Fight On
Alec Realm vs. Jim Stryder
Having already discussed the skills, the experience and the pedigrees of so many of the performers on this card, this match stands in stark contrast as it features two men just cutting their teeth in the wrestling business. Like Violet Lee, Realm and Stryder are two recent graduates of Dux’s Wrestling Factory, and all three started there just 19 months ago as part of the ‘Original Six’ students at the school. They have already been a Smash ring before, but now they are facing off against each other to see who is the standout from their class.
Both employ an effective striking game, much like their mentor, but whereas Realm will incorporate high-flying into his offense, Stryder is more inclined to the power game. There is a strong likelihood that Smash fans will be seeing a lot of these two young men in the future, and this will be the opportunity to get a good look at what they are all about.
This concludes our preview of Smash Wrestling’s Get Your Fight On.
