The New Jersey area is a melting pot of the US indie scene, with multiple promotions working out of the area creating huge buzz nationally. In 2017, Colin West added to that stew with the launch of Synergy Pro Wrestling in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, and they return to live action on Saturday, July 11, 2020, live on FITE.tv, with a special event called For the 1st Responders, with proceeds going to the American Nurses Foundation. It marks Synergy’s first event since January’s Tomorrow Comes Today and it will have a huge impact on July 25’s Garden State Invitational Tournament.
Alex Reiman vs. Mike Del vs. Kit Osbourne
Three longtime Jersey scene veterans compete in a triple threat match. Alex Reiman is the new moniker of the wrestler formerly known as Aaron Bradley, and one half of The American Murder Society with Steve Off, who are 2x D2W and Pro Wrestling Magic Tag Team Champions. He’s not just a tag team specialist either, having held the D2W International Championship 210-days. Mike Del originally broke out with Pro Wrestling Syndicate early in his career, before joining Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) in 2015, where he became a CZW Medal of Valor Champion. Kit Osbourne is a long time veteran of CZW, where he competed from 2010 through 2019 and was a 2x CZW Medal of Valor Champion. A hardcore specialist, he also works with Hardcore Hustle Organization (H2O) and On Point Wrestling (OPW), where he’s a former OPW Champion.
Matt Macintosh vs. Francis Kipland Stevens
Boston’s “Bad Apple” Matt Macintosh has been a staple in multiple Jersey area promotions, starting with Pro Wrestling Syndicate before moving over to Wrestle Pro where he’s a 2x Wrestle Pro Champion and the final PWS Heavyweight Champion. The 32-year old grappler is also the longest-reigning Synergy Champion at 233-days, held last year from April to November, and will be looking to get back in the title hunt. But first, he’s got to go through New York indie star Francis Kipland Stevens, a longtime regular with New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) and former NYWC Fusion Champion. He crossed the Holland Tunnel ages ago to work for the likes of Wrestle Pro, before making his Synergy debut last year at Synergy Eight in January, but he’s looking to make a name for himself in the promotion and a big win over a former Synergy Champion will make just the statement he needs.
Apostles of Chaos (Logan Black & Chris Benne) vs. MV Young & Jason Sinclair
The Apostles of Chaos comes from New York City’s Warriors of Wrestling (WOW) with a mandate to unleash carnage in the Garden State. Former 2x WOW Tag Team Champions, including a monstrous 322-day run in 2018, the unit of Logan Black & Chris Benne will be looking to cause more damage on Saturday. Standing in their way is the pairing of MV Young and Jason Sinclair, both with vendettas against the Apostles. MV Young made his debut with Synergy in January of 2019 at Synergy Eight in a 6-man tag team loss to the full Apostles trio, but on Saturday he pairs with the Apostles’ third man, Jason Sinclair, who has since been ousted from the Apostles of Chaos stable. The two young stars will be out for revenge and to slow down the barrage from the New York veterans.
Matt Vertigo vs. KTB
Matt Vertigo is a near 10-year veteran looking to make a big splash in his Synergy Wrestling debut on Saturday, as he takes on a monster in KTB. Matt Vertigo debuted with New Jersey’s UWA Elite in 2011, and since taken flight around the country, including working with CHIKARA, Pizza Party Wrestling, and Pennslyvania’s Susquehanna Wrestling Organization (SWO). He’s facing a deathmatch veteran in KTB, a 10+ year pro and Jersey native who has made a resume of pain throughout Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), CZW, ICW No Holds Barred, and IWA Mid-South, as well as FREEDOMS in Japan and Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU) in Mexico. He was GCW World Champion for an impressive 350-days from 2016 through to early 2017.
GSI Qualifier: Leon St. Giovanni vs. Jordan Oliver
On July 25, Synergy holds the 2nd Annual Garden State Invitational tournament, but they still have two spots in the tournament to fill, and on Saturday they have two qualifiers to fill those last spots. In the first qualifier, Ring of Honor star LSG (also known as Leon St. Giovanni) will be looking to secure his spot in the tournament when he faces Jordan Oliver. LSG has been wowing audiences for years in Coast 2 Coast alongside Shaheem Ali in ROH’s tag team division but has been making a push for himself as a singles competitor of late, even earning a shot at the ROH World Television title last year. LSG is facing one of the rising young guns of the US indies in Jordan Oliver, who, like LSG, also competes on television, but as a member of the Major League Wrestling (MLW) roster as part of the Injustice stable with Myron Reed, the reigning MLW Middleweight Champion. Oliver is also a regular with GCW and CZW, where he’s a former 427-day CZW Wired Champion. The winner of this match will actually enter the first round and will have to face Oliver’s MLW partner, Myron Reed.
Synergy Championship, #1 Contenders Match: Eric Corvis vs. Brandon Kirk
Two good Jersey boys will battle it out on Saturday to be named the #1 Contender to Synergy Champion Frightmare‘s title. Eric Corvis is a near-19-year veteran of the Jersey indies, going back to his early days with Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) and National Wrestling Superstars (NWS) in the mid-2000s. Formerly known as Fear Corvis, he’s a former NWS Jersey Shore Champion and 2x NWS Tag Team Champion, and a former tag team champion in JAPW as well. He was also a frequent regular with Beyond Wrestling from 2009 to 2015, making his Beyond return last year during Uncharted Territory. He’s looking to strike gold for his first singles gold since 2006, but first, he has to get past Brandon Kirk to make that happen. Kirk got his start in NWS in the late 2000s, and moved on to become a regular with GCW, CZW, H2O, Limitless Wrestling, and ICW NHB since, but he is looking out for his first taste of championship gold.
30 Minute Iron Man Match: Alex Zayne vs. Blake Christian
Around this time last year, these two were virtual unknowns outside backyards and local wrestling, but following GCW’s first Backyard Wrestling special on July 4, 2019, followed up by GCW’s Nashville debut Lights Out on July 21, everyone knew exactly who Alex Zayne and Blake Christian were. The two would first lock up in singles action in August at GCW’s return to the West Coast for Joey Janela’s Escape From LA, which got both of them booked in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) as part of the non-tournament section of Battles of Los Angeles that September. The two have been seemingly inseparable since then, appearing mostly in multi-man matches, from tag team to Scrambles. Their last singles one-on-one was last September on the second night of Black Label Pro‘s Turbo Graps 16 tournament. The two are 1-1 against each other, so this Saturday they’ll have the rubber match but it will be in a 30-minute Iron Man Match. Two of the US indies’ most innovative high-flyers, this match will be a 30-minute joyride of jaw-dropping GIFs just waiting to go viral.
GSI Qualifier: Tony Deppen vs. JD Drake
The second qualifier for the Garden State Invitational has all the proponents for Match of the Night, even with Zayne vs. Christian on the card. Tony Deppen has been one of the US indies premier talents over the past year, with his work in GCW, Beyond Wrestling, and CHIKARA, while also appearing in his first PWG BOLA last September. JD Drake is best known for his multi-time tag team champion unit The Work Horsemen with Anthony Henry (Freelance, Rockstar Pro, EVOLVE and Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment (AEW)), but he’s also a fearsome striker and singles opponent. He held the World Wrestling Network (WWN) Championship for 258-days from 2018 to 2019. Drake is a throwback to hard-hitting grapplers like Arn Anderson, Dick The Bruiser and Dick Murdoch, and he’s recently become a free agent following WWE’s purchase of EVOLVE. With his longtime tag partner Anthony Henry announcing his retirement this year, it’s finally Drake’s time to become one of the dominant singles stars in the US. The winner of this match will face Gregory Iron in the first round of the tournament on July 25.
A Frightmare on Pratt Street: Frightmare vs. Desean Pratt
Synergy Champion Frightmare is set to face former CHIKARA roster-mate Desean Pratt (formerly the masked Amasis in the Osiris Portal with Ophidian) for the Championship at Garden State Invitational, but these two have a grudge to settle beyond championship belts. The two feuded for seven years in CHIKARA, with their last encounter happening at CHIKARA Temple of Doom in December of 2016, where Frightmare beat Amasis, forcing him to unmask. This fight was pre-recorded and the “lost footage” will air on Saturday night as an appetizer for what’s to come on July 25.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Synergy Wrestling’s special for the 1st responders will air live on FITE.tv at 7pm EST on Saturday, July 11, 2020.
