If you haven’t attended a Wrestlepro event yet, you’re really missing out. Under the direction of WWE Producer Pat Buck and Kevin Matthews, the company puts on stellar shows ranging from New Jersey to Alaska. The shows feature some of the best indy talent on the planet, along with a few special appearances. Last weekend’s In Our House event was no exception as WP brought stellar matches, top notch performers, and even a couple title changes along the way.
The first title change on In Our House involved J.O.B. Security (Ronnie Moses and Malcom Moss)Â being able to capture the belts from Wrestlepro Tag Champs Craig Steele and ECW’s Danny Doring. Early on all four competitors performed what I can best describe as an interesting four way leg lock in which they were able to “see-saw” each other. Hadn’t seen that one before. Steele and Doring overpowered their smaller opponents until the ref gets knocked out. J.O.B. Security is able to put their opposition through a door with the ref out of the equation and pick up the win to become the NEW tag team champions. The new champs get a huge ovation and come out into the crowd. The new champs are met with lots of hugs from family and high fives from the kids. This was a nice moment.
Another title change took place on In Our House saw Shawn Donovan took on the WrestlePro Silver Title holder LSG. I had a feeling Donovan was going to get the strap here as he definitely grabbed the torch that Danny Maff had passed onto him in November after a very emotional farewell match. The story of the match was Donovan’s power against LSG’s agility. LSG however was able to impressively pull off a few power moves as well. Donovan however, couldn’t be stopped after hitting a pretty epic spine-buster into a sharpshooter combo. LSG was able to escape but was met with a massive running knee strike by Donovan for the three count. Your new WrestlePro Silver Title Champion , Mr. Shawn Donovan.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our opening match, VSK against The Dark Order’s (AEW) Alex Reynolds. This was a good one and VSK has a LOT of potential. In fact after winning the match a fired up Kevin Matthews says he is going to get a shot at the Gold Title at the next event in Rahway. VSK is another one to keep an eye on.
Later in the night, the always inspirational Zach Gowen took on Bobby Wayward in a stellar matchup. If you’ve seen Gowan perform live and know his story, you are left in awe. In fact “INSPIRE” is written on his gear. The crowd was very vocally behind Gowan, and even gave him a standing ovation after his loss. Stellar performance by the former WWE talent.
Match of the night goes to Kris Statlander vs. Ivelisse. Both competitors are fantastic, but the crowd was behind Statlander who continually steals the show.  Her persona is so over, and her in ring work speaks for itself. (Peep my interview with Kris Statlander on the Bob Culture Podcast).
Lots of “AEW” chants throughout but Kris gets the crowd to chant “Wrestlepro” instead which is the classiest thing ever.
This match told a story and these ladies had more roll-ups than Betty Crocker. Great technical wrestling early filled with plenty of nose boops by Statlander. The two competitors busted out a few moves that I’ve never seen before inside of a wrestling ring. In fact, the match ended in an incredibly innovative bridged reversal roll up by Statlander that I’ve well — never seen before … and I hope to see on AEW TV soon. Great match and a show of respect with a finger touch from Ivelisse post match.
Every single kid in the audience wanted to touch fingers with their new favorite alien, and Statlander obliged. In fact she even licked our pal, ring announcer Dave Sturchio before heading to the back. In our interview, Kris stated that she wanted to just bring joy back to wrestling and that’s exactly what she is doing. I can’t say enough good things about Statlander as she is one of the best on the planet – nay, in the galaxy right now!
Our main event saw WrestlePro Gold Champion Anthony Bowens take on “The Bad Apple” Matt Macintosh and Alaska’s Deonn “The Iceberg” Rusman. This is how you close a show right here. Right out of the gate, Rusman went for his signature spear but missed and was taken out of the equation. Macintosh and Bowens put on a clinic inside the ring. Rusman comes back with a really innovative double arm hook slam off the top rope on both opponents. (Check out my interview Anthony Bowens on the Bob Culture Podcast).
The crowd is into it as the chants of “Ice- Berg” (ala Goldberg chants) “Bowens” and “Bad Apple” echo throughout the match. Rusman takes another chance with his spear and misses his second. He does connect on his third spear but Macintosh is able to kick out. Bowens however is able to finish the job after a pair of running Last Shot esque knees and package piledriver to retain his title! Macintosh is a proven commodity already, but don’t sleep on Bowens or Rusman. Both of these competitors have already seen limited action in a WWE ring and there’s no doubt in my mind both of them will be back there in the future.
Wrestlepro returns to Rahway on March 28th with the appropriately named “Whatever” show featuring featuring the marquee match-up of apple vs. orange –Â Â The Bad Apple, Matt Macintosh versus AEW’s freshly squeezed Orange Cassidy!!
