Saturday July 21, 2007 Hamilton, ON at Oakwood Place


Stranglehold: Summer Shit Kickin'
Hamilton
Oakwood Place
Attendance: 75
Ring Announcer: Gordo
Referees: Jon Turnip, P. Wee, Brady

Things got off to a slow start due to issues with the ring. Originally, Stranglehold had made arrangements to rent MCW's ring but that fell through after the Iron Sheik debacle last week. MCW promoter Clayton Sincade pretty much vanished after that show and Stranglehold staff was left scrambling to find another ring.

A hasty trip to Deepest, Darkest Scarbourough yielded the original Stranglehold ring which last saw action at last year's Bloodstock show. Unfortunately, the hardware needed to hang the ropes had vanished like a burned promoter.

Canadian Badass was dispatched to pick up the necessary nuts and bolts but returned with bolts too short for the job. By this time, fans were lining up outside, beer was flowing freely in the dressing room and tension was rising.

The Family Id was involved in a minor fender-bender while driving Hellbent, Freak amd Mysterion to the venue but that was nothing compared to the potential train wreck that the show was shaping up to be.

20 minutes after scheduled bell time the fans were allowed into the venue but the ring ropes were still laying on the mat. Thankfully, Canadian Badass Senior made a run to Home Depot and secured the proper hardware to complete the ring construction.

During the delay, Gordo worked the crowd and Mysterion demonstrated his magic and hypnotic powers. Fans took the delay in stride as the Stranglehold party atmosphere kept everyone in good spirits. Booze flowed and major pot smoking on the fire escape ensured that, if nothing else, collective sobriety was taking a shit kickin'! Eventually, the ring was ready and the show got underway...

Nazi Destroyer vs Flying Tiger
Winner: Nazi Destroyer
A pretty good opener that saw the bigger and more powerful Nazi Destroyer dominate his smaller masked opponent. Tiger tried to employ a speedy high flying style but was unable to overcome the power assault of the hooded Nazi. A particularly viscious run to the post outside the ring put Tiger on stupid street and he was pinned a few minutes later.

Catfight to Determine Opponent for the Queen of the Stranglewhores at the Aug Show: Mercy vs Daisy D
Winner: Mercy
Fans were quick to realize that this was more an inter-gender match than a true Catfight when Daisy D made "her" appearance. It was obvious that Daisy was a large man and Mercy proved it by pulling the stuffing out from Daisy's chest. Mercy took a pounding early but rallied and won the bout by pinfall after 3 low blows. It took a lot of balls (and a session with P. Wee) for "Daisy" to get the courage to climb in the ring as a woman and those same balls proved to be "her" downfall.

Mysterion! (Oooooh)
Mysterion is actually very good at doing what he does. I'm not sure how to describe what exactly that is. He's kind of a mind reader or mentalist (or something.) He's a snazzy dresser and very charismatic (if somewhat of a dick because of his "smarter than all of you" attitude.) He manged to keep control of a tough crowd and provided an entertaining display of magic and weird "how'd he do THAT?" kind of stuff.
Mysterion revealed that he had selected a wrestler from the back to demonstrate his "mind control" on and called the Squeegee Kid to the ring. Squeegee was hypnotized and "frozen" in the ring before Mysterion brought him back and the two left.
Weird... but fun.

3-Way Match: GT Dynamite vs Hayden "JohnnyFonzarelliTheDestroyer" Avery vs Omega Aaron Draven
Winner: GT Dynamite
I loved this match! So did everyone else. Avery is of course, well known to fans of Ontario Indy and I don't think anyone would disagree when I say he's not only regarded as one of the best workers in the Province, he's also one of the best loved. Omega Aaron Draven has won Stranglehold fans over with his daredevil aerial style and GT Dynamite, (aka George Terzis) making his second appearance in the Stranglehold Kingdom, once again demonstrated his skill and potential for greatness.
Great stuff in this one. No one held any real advantage for the opening minutes but the action broke open after Avery's double sunset flip saw Omega sent flying hard into the ropes on the opposite side of the ring. With just one opponent left to pose a threat, GT Dynamite turned up the jets. He rocked Avery with HUGE kicks to the chest and an explosive high impact offense.
Omega rejoined the fight late in the bout and fans went nuts as all three competitors threw caution to the wind in their quest for victory. when the dust settled, GT Dynamite had his hand raised but all received cheers for their efforts.

JC Owens & Pissed Off Pete vs The Sound Brothers (Owen & Parry)
Winners: JC Owens & Pissed Off Pete
JC Owens was showered in Joe Louis bars when he entered the ring. Said pastries, cakes or whatever they are were scattered around the venue in various states of squishiness for the rest of the show. Maybe not as classy as the streamers thrown at Japanese wrestling events but a very fun fan interaction moment nonetheless.
That was the best part of this match.
The Sound Brothers spent what seemed like hours avoiding any kind of lock-up with Pissed Off Pete. The diminutive Stranglehold CEO got on the mic and gave a long dreary taunting directive instructing the Sound Brothers to try their luck against JC Owens.
Naturally, the massive Owens was an immoveable object. He weighs more than the Sound Brothers combined and they bounced off him like gnats. Eventually, JC crushed the two of them against the buckles and Pete got the pin.
The match was barely okay as a comedy segment; thanks in full to the insertion of a midget... sorry. Little person. In my opinion, it should have run before the 3-Way because after the excitement levels generated by Dynamite, Avery and Omega, this one seemed slower than rust. Considering that this match led into the intermission, and a performance by Pantychrist, it should have been a little more fast paced.
Things ended on a high note however as the Murder Junkies rushed the ring after the bell. Bloody Bill Skullion and Ian Decay beat the shit out of the Sound Brothers, much to the delight of the crowd. Parry Sound took the brunt of the abuse.

Intermission
Always a fun time at Stranglehold shows, intermission was full of the usual antics and mayhem. What made this one different was a short set by local Hamilton band Pantychrist. This band rocks! Danyell (Screaming), Izabelle Steele (Guitar) and Amy Hell (bass) form a trifecta of female sonic carnage in front of drummer Nick Tops. Check out the Pantychrist website to learn more about this great band!

No DQ: Mike Stevens w/ Michael Elgin vs Sqeegee Kid w/ Mysterion
Winner: Mike Stevens
A successful Stranglehold debut for Stevens as he came out on top after a rather... uh, less than spectacular match. Squeegee seemed off his game and struggled throughout. Maybe it was because he was "hypnotised" or whatever. There was enough manager involvement and action to keep fans into the bout but it was obvious that Stevens was frustrated at working so far off the page.
Not sure what happened with the finish. It appeared that Squeegee had won but he gave Stevens 5 more minutes. Stevens quickly scored the pin and the official win.

Murder Junkie vs Murder Junkie: Bloody Bill Skullion vs Ian Decay
Winner: Ian Decay
As one would expect, Skullion & Decay wasted little time in taking this one outside the ropes. They brawled around Oakwood Place sending chairs and fans flying. Skullion smashed beer bottles and used them as weapons and Decay responded in kind. When his Murder Junkie partner got the upper hand, Bill used a knife to carve up the "Sexy Scumbag."
Decay got his hands on the knife and returned the favor before trying to pin Skullion amid the chairs by Dr Mask's merch table. Skullion broke another bottle and jammed it into Ian's head. Decay appeared to tap out but the match continued.
It ended in the ring when Skullion missed with the flaming punch and Decay shoved Bill's burning fist into his own face. A fantastic brawl with a minimum of actual weapon usuage. Very effective, very entertaining and VERY violent.

Unlucky 13 Staple Gun Match: Juggulator vs Sam Hane
Winner: Juggulator
Fans supplied Canadian Tire money for this encounter while Hane and Juggz supplied the insanity and carnage. Absolutely nuts! The battle raged around the venue among a cheering throng of bloodthirsty fans. Even Pantychrist joined the fun as Hane & Juggz gave everyone a main event brawl of epic proportions.
Juggulator won, 7 stapled bills to 6, when he affixed the winning bill to Hane's Adam's Apple. After the match Juggz invited Derek Cordeau into the ring to rap his theme song. Juggz is hugely over with Stranglehold fans and this win made everyone happy.

Pantychrist performed more songs to close out the show. Despite the seemingly obligatory hassles and issues, Stranglehold once again pulled off a show like no other. Part wrestling show, part carnival sideshow, Stranglehold events are always a party atmosphere. Pantychrist members Danyell and Amy Hell pretty much summed it up by declaring that they'd "seen some pretty wild shit before, but nothing like this!" I'd have to agree. There truly is nothing quite like a Stranglehold show. With this outing, Stranglehold proved they can entertain fans without resorting to totally outrageous displays of blood-letting. Sure, there was blood (and lots of it) but it wasn't blood for blood's sake. The color was secondary (and complementary) to the real action that had fans on their feet cheering.

Stranglehold returns in August for their 1 year anniversary show. Should be a helluva party.

Posted on 22 Jul 2007 by www.owie.ca



Danyell with Ian Decay
All photos taken by Mrs. Id  See more of her pics -here-
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