This past weekend, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada received a lot of professional wrestling in the form of three huge events. Two Ring of Honor shows and a SMASH Wrestling event (Gold 2015). For those unfamiliar with SMASH, it’s a local independent company that has been running over two years and features not only the top talent in Southern Ontario, but also many top unsigned performers from the United States as well. Two members of the Last Word On Sports Pro Wrestling Department (Jeff DeHaan and Adam Contant) were on hand to witness their first ever SMASH event. Below you will find their thoughts on the matches, competitors, and the overall show.
The Matches
Tarik vs. Matt Cross
Thoughts from Jeff DeHaan
Tarik was expecting to get a bye to the finals since his original opponent Gregory Iron was unable to make it due to a death in the family, but someone answered the challenge and was more than willing to not only face Tarik, but have the chance to become #1 contender for the SMASH Championship, that man was Matt Cross. As a huge fan of Lucha Underground I was really looking forward to seeing Matt Cross (aka Son of Havoc) in action live for the first time, and he did not disappoint. Due to some last minute shifting in the card, Cross went from teaming with Greed to take on the GOAT Brigade to facing the man who turned on Cross and cost him the SMASH Wrestling Championship several months ago in Tarik. It was a fast-paced hard hitting match which saw Matt Cross flying off the top rope more times than I can remember. In the end, Tarik couldn’t get from the Shooting Star Press and Matt Cross advanced to the finals, although I have a feeling Cross isn’t quite finished with Tarik and the rest of Fourth Gunn.
Biff Busick vs. Scotty O Shea
Thoughts from Adam Contant
I’m familiar with the work of “Hacker” Scotty O’Shea and think he is one of the top male wrestlers in Southern Ontario. Biff Busick is a well traveled stand out in the United States having wrestled for companies like Combat Zone Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, and EVOLVE. Hacker has been known to hold his own in a brawl, and while not a brawler, Busick has a rough neck style that was on display. I the end, Hacker was not quite up to snuff against the Fourth Gunn member and fell victim to a Half and Half Suplex. Altogether not particularly memorable, both men gave an entertaining contest and my first experience with Busick was not a negative one.
“Cyborg” Tyson Dux vs. Drew Gulak
Thoughts from Jeff DeHaan
Despite Gulak being a member of the despised faction Fourth Gunn, he showed a great deal of sportsmanship offering a hand to Dux at the start of the match. After the handshake, which didn’t involve any shenanigans from Gulak, it was time to get down to business. There was a lengthy feeling out process, as neither man wanted to take their opponent lightly. After some back and forth chain wrestling they each moved on to various submission and wear down holds in the hopes of tiring out their opposition. Nothing ever had a chance to stick though, as each man managed to break the holds, or at least make it to the ropes. Things got heated late in the match as the combatants began throwing fists and chops at one another. Every hit was answered with another in kind with the flurry of blows getting faster and faster. It seemed like neither man was ever going to gain momentum, until Tyson found an opening and managed to gain the victory with a school boy. The bulk of this match was a dead heat with no one having a clear cut edge, but all it takes is three seconds.
Candice LeRae vs. Brent Banks
Thoughts from Adam Contant
SMASH Wrestling does a very good job of promoting women’s wrestling in Ontario. Their annual Can-Am Classic pitting female competitors from Canada and the United States against one another is a showcase event for them. With this knowledge in mind, I was very interested to see how Smash handled an inter-gender match. I wasn’t disappointed. Candice made an immediate impression on me as a fan. She has a likability factor that draws you in and makes you want to see her succeed. Her best attribute might be her energy. When she is selling her pain, you really feel her struggle, and during her comeback, her fire made me cheer, especially with her visually stunning Reverse Hurricanrana, which won her the contest. I became an instant fan during her contest with the arrogant and athletic Brent Banks, who also impressed me with his easily hated character and storytelling abilities. This match told an exciting and gripping story that ended up being my favourite of the event.
Rich Swann vs. Trevor Lee
Thoughts from Jeff DeHaan
Without a doubt, the two greatest entrances of the night went to Rich Swann and Trevor Lee. Rich was decked out in a leather jacket and sunglasses, cutting some sweet moves down the aisle to Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long (All Night)”. However, there’s something oddly entertaining about a one-eyed, bearded man dancing to the ring to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”. Before the match got under way, Lee grabbed a microphone and explained that despite being injured and having one eye bandaged up, in the spirit of sportsmanship, he would still compete in the match. Sportsmanship doesn’t go very far with Trevor Lee though, as he attacked Swann as soon as he turned his back. During the contest Swann tried to stay ahead of Lee by using his agility, hitting Trevor with flying cutters and springboard attacks. Lee would comeback and try to slow the pace down, keeping his much faster opponent grounded with chin locks and other wear down holds. Swann would eventually gain the upper hand again, and seemed poised for a victory except he was caught in a small package by Lee, who hooked his feet on the ropes for leverage, pinning Swann. Despite Swann’s protests after the match, referee Jimmy Korderas didn’t see Lee’s feet in the ropes and had to reiterate to Swann that is was indeed a three count.
John Greed vs. GOAT Brigade
Thoughts from Adam Contant
In wrestling, there are a few assumptions that can always be made. One of those assumptions is that the card is always subject to change. Such was the case at SMASH Gold when advertised wrestler Gregory Iron was unable to attend due to a family emergency. This caused a shift in the card with Matt Cross taking his place against Tarik, and leaving a space to fill in the advertised tag team match of the GOAT Brigade (Kirk Warmack and Shane Sabre) against John Greed and Matt Cross. John Greed is part of a group called the Overdogs, who have a popular web series that sometimes features Smash analyst Scott Hunter. Greed asked Hunter to be his partner for the match, and not being a trained wrestler, Hunter turned him down. Before Greed could try to convince Scott to change his mind, the GOAT Brigade attacked the lone Overdog and began a two on one handicap match. Try as he might to fight off the two competitors, the odds were not in his favor. After some Goading from the GOAT Brigade, Scott Hunter decided to join the fray and while his attacks had no effect, it served as a distraction allowing John Greed to take advantage and score the upset victory after a signature Five Ton Frog Splash. Greed dragged Hunter over and laid his prone body overtop the GOAT Brigade for the win in what was a fun and entertainment match from all four men involved.
SMASH Championship Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Chris Hero vs. Josh Alexander
Thoughts from Jeff DeHaan
Without a doubt this was the most physical, hardest hitting match of the night, although that isn’t surprising when you have guys like Chris Hero and Josh Alexander sharing a ring. To say Gargano was cautious would be a vast understatement. The champ downright avoided getting in the ring and wanted nothing to do with his larger opponents. It wasn’t until Hero brought it to Johnny’s attention that he himself didn’t have to be pinned to lose the title that Gargano started getting a little braver, entering the ring to break up a pin attempt. After a couple well placed cheap shots, Johnny felt comfortable enough to stay in the ring and mix it up with Hero and Alexander. The smaller Gargano wasn’t able to keep the upper hand on his own however, and later in the match had his Fourth Gunn teammates come to the ring to help him out, but even they weren’t enough as Alexander and Hero managed to survive the onslaught from the heel faction. It wasn’t until the two big men were so worn down from beating on one another, and fighting over who would hit their respective finisher on the champion first, that Gargano would be able to capitalize, catching Josh Alexander with a crucifix for the one, two, three.
SMASH Wrestling Main Event
#1 Contender Match
Matt Cross vs. Biff Busick vs. Tyson Dux vs. Candice LeRae vs. Trevor Lee
Thoughts from Adam Contant
There was a palpable excitement in the air for the main event with a number of great talents and fan favorites involved. The finals of the 2015 Gold tournament started out fast and furious with all five combatants brawling around ringside. With the action spread out no one had to miss out, which was a smart move. The eliminations came quickly, leaving little time for fans to breath. In what had to be considered a surprise, Matt Cross was eliminated early by the interfering Fourth Gunn stable. Trevor Lee followed soon after thanks to Tyson Dux, who was kept from being much of a factor against Biff Busick thanks to the efforts of his stablemates. Candice LeRae took a considerable amount of punishment before Dux was able to take out Fourth Gunn and help eliminate Busick. Much to the surprise of both the crowd and Dux himself, Tyson found himself rolled up in a school boy while the referee counted to three and LeRae won the match! The crowd erupted into cheers and banged on the ring with passionate joy, celebrating the huge win for the emotional favorite. In that moment the crowd of 200 sounded closer to 2000 and it was easy to get swept up in the hysteria. I certainly did, screaming and chanting along with the SMASH regulars.
Overall Thoughts
SMASH Wrestling usually pulls in 300 fans, but this time there was about 200 present for this show. That might seem like a negative but it gives some perspective when one considers that in the same city that weekend were two Ring of Honor shows, one a TV taping and the other for pay per view. Drawing a crowd against those circumstances should be applauded, especially given the fact that the crowd there was energetic, and seemed completely captivated by the action and story being told.
There is an old saying that goes “perception is reality”. If that is true, that SMASH Wrestling perceives itself as a highly professional and qualitative product. Their production values are high and although they do not take themselves so seriously as to ruin the fun, they are earnest enough about the product to give their fans not only a top notch experience live, but also a very strong social media presence as well. They have video on demand service and allow fans to order their tickets online, proving they know how to adapt to changing times, but also retain their personal touch. It is a delicate balancing act that few can even pull off, let alone excel at the way SMASH does.
If you happen to be in the Toronto area on June 6, SMASH will be offering two shows that day – #GiveDivasAChance and SMASH Kicks ALS. One is an all female wrestling event while the other is a fundraiser for ALS.ca. If you can’t attend live, but want to see what SMASH is all about, check out their website and maybe order a digital download for one of their shows. If your experience was anything like ours, you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.
