I was lucky enough to personally attend DEFY Age Of War. The company’s first event of 2020. With the likes of Matt Cross and Matt Sydal on the card, I knew I had to be in attendance. I sincerely hope that what I witnessed at Age of War was a sign of what is to come in 2020. We got to see fresh talent, old favorites, and a full variety of matches and fighting styles from the talent. The largest statement I can make about this event was “Unpredictable”, in the best of ways.
Following a greeting by Migs (and of course, congratulating him over the birth of his new child) Randy Myers enters the ring to give the crowd some prodding. He claimed he would like this year to be the year he gets a brand new belt. I felt the crowd’s sincerity as they cheered on Randy’s dream.
Then, before we knew it, the first surprise of the New Year came through the curtain in the form of Daniel Makabe.
Randy Myers (W) vs Daniel Makabe
Few people in the crowd reacted to him. When Makabe entered the ring, Randy looked him in the face, giggled and said: “I don’t even know who you are!”. And with that, the match was on. Makabe was very impressive and I hope the DEFY crowd is able to get to know him better in the coming year. The match was filled with impressive body manipulations and Randy’s usual antics, with Randy pulling out the win.
The next match was also a surprise as it did not appear on the card.
Three-Way Tag Match
4 Minutes of Heat (W) vs Cook Bros vs The Voros Twins
4 Minutes of Heat make their way to the ring and explain that their original opponents are unable to make it. Then they are shortly joined by the Cook Bros and The Voros Twins. I want to note that I personally had never seen the Voros Twins wrestle, and I thought they were great and extremely entertaining.
The match had a lot of high impact spots and really demonstrated what tag teams are capable of. The crowd was loving the match, but as soon as the bell rang, Schaff and AMERIKAN GUNZ reigned down on the teams, seemingly just to drive the point home Schaff is now a heel.
Shaff picks up both of the Voros Twins and marches around the ring before double power bombing them into the mat and making their exit.
Hammerstone (W) Vs Sonico Luchador
These men put on a high paced match, showing off their power and prowess. At first glance, you would assume the match a quick squash in favor of Hammerstone. While Hammerstone walked away with the ‘W’, the match was anything but easy won.
Sonico uses high speed and creative body manipulation to deal out damage to Hammerstone. However, Hammerstone’s style and superior strength overcame Sonico’s offensive. Hammerstone lifts Sonico high into the air and drives him into the mat, HARD. In fact, the impact was so rough, it caused the cool air that gets caught under the ring to be pushed into the audience. Further driving home (to those in attendance) just how hard Sonico hit the mat.
Matt Sydal (W) Vs Matt Cross
This match was everything you’d hope. Both men on top form. These men were beautiful to watch as they artfully execute their moves. Both men named Matt. The crowd chants “Let’s go Matts’!” and ‘Go’ they went.
Flying through the air, twisting each other into pretzels. From aerial acrobatics down to the technical manipulations, I found this match extremely satisfying and would love to see them face off again!
Psicosis & Guillermo “KO Boy” Rosas vs The Uprising (Judas Icarus & Eli Surge)
KO Boy and Psicosis enter the ring to what I felt was the biggest pop of the night. Both teams put a lot of heart into this match. KO Boy did a great job of controlling The Uprising for the first part of the match.
Once Psicosis was in the ring, the Uprising set him up for a 2 man powerbomb. Which he was able to reverse and plant them into the mat with a veteran double DDT. The Uprising uses a combo of top rope attacks and submissions to try to subdue their foes. Icarus targets KO Boy and moves in to attack, but KO Boy makes him pay by using a clothesline to turn him inside out.
After the bell, great respect was shown by each individual to all the others in the spirit of good sportsmen ship.
“Classic” Cody Chhun (W) Vs “The Golden Boy” Travis Williams
This match was your classic Face Vs Heel. Cody is ready to fight, and Travis seems eager to keep space between them and play to the crowd. Like a cat, Travis picks his moments to cause as much damage as possible while at the same time putting out as little exertion as possible. These men are fairly evenly matched and have similar styles. Watching them work together is an entertaining thrill! The crowd starred heavily in this match, taunting the Golden Boy.
“Do your homework…”
“Trust Fund…”
“Past Your Bed Time…”
Travis throws Cody at the ropes out of frustration, who gets caught up and falls out to the floor below. Classic Cody. He then comes back strong, taking advantage of Travis’ split attention and claiming the W for himself. This match had the crowd on it’s feet, once it’s posted by DEFY, I highly recommend checking it out!
Warbeast and Artemis Spencer (W) Vs Schaff and AMERIKAN GUNZ
This match was wild beyond words. It was like Warbeast reached straight into Arty’s heart and lit a new fire. A fire of aggression and destruction. Bodies go flying in every direction. Josef of Warbeast rips the padding up from the wood floor and he and Fatu punish AMERIKAN GUNZ. It feels like the match is close to over, but then…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxklEFkXmyk&w=654&h=368
Arty unleashes his own beast in the form of a projectile ladder. Launching it from the stage and taking out all 3 of the opposing team. The brutality and chaos of this match can not be understated. It is worth watching over and over, from as many views as you can find. With everything that happened, I doubt if any single observer was able to catch ALL the action.
Thank you to DEFY and all the talent and crowd for an amazing night. I can’t wait to see what 2020 brings to this corner of the Pacific Northwest’s Indy wrestling scene!
Originally written by Kelley Jacobi
