The Rundown Slam: PWR Wrevolution X 2017

05/07/2017 12:24:33 AM

This Sunday saw the Philippine wrestling scene is alive (and kicking, in fact!) no matter how tough the road they have taken the past year, and a show called Wrevolution X was the icing on the cake.

And we're not talking about community of fandom here. While everyone may have been talking about how shitty the WWE has been writing as of late, plus TV5 getting the rights to air SmackDown Live episodes, we have a packed house in the central area of the metropolitan which staged the banner show of Philippine Wrestling Revolution. 

The program went on for five hours (one hour for pre-show and four in the main program), and staying for its entirety didn't looked dragging for everyone. The crowd of 600 were in for a treat and did their part in delivering perhaps the Philippines' counterpart to WrestleMania (WWE, United States) and Wrestle Kingdom (NJPW, Japan) from all the chanting to heckling and everything in between.

Three pre-show matches and a brief announcement from Main Maxx took centerstage. I get it: some would've argued that kickoff portions should have taken place earlier than 2PM (and they have been doing this habit even their hey-days at Makati Square) but I think this is one way to make everyone get their glances on what promises PWR has to offer. And it's fine.

A story of love and hate ignited the start of the Wrevolution X main show, and frankly I thought this match would last long (Hey, where's the crowbar?). But at least they didn't looked that rushed and I admire how Rederick Mahaba stood up and give the Apocalypse a fight. 

Okay, why put up a qualifier match while you can set this into a fatal-four way clash instead? That is the clear indicator when the action was spoiled later on. At least, they strayed away from pulling off a replica of WrestleMania XXX. That said, I had a change of predictions in mind after Mr. Sy announced that Chino Guinto and Ralph Imabayashi were added in the PHX Championship match without the aid of slugging each other that early and easily.

Funny how the third match went on, but it was helluva average and that proved how James “Idol” Martinez ran away like a smooth criminal after dispensing Martivo with a bit of ease. And probably, this could write another page in the latter's character on his rapport with tag team partner Robynn. 

Ken Warren looked for challenge and did not really take it (or did he, but of course with the help of those millennials). And certainly he took a page from Bombay Suarez's book with a more devastating fiery low-blow. That and his set of whines will certainly cement his status as PWR's top heel soon (no he's not yet, unless we see him chase Chris Panzer in another chapter of their rivalry).

#THAT's a big IF, though.

Next in line were the inaugural PWR tag team championships, and somewhat seeing the YOLO Twins appear shortly after assisting Warren made me pissed off for a second only to realize hey, this is an actual example of how some self-centered millennial should actually act.

And seeing them winning the titles could signify how this division is young and talented despite having the likes for Fighters 4 Hire as the longest-standing (so far) in PWR, and the Deadly Sinns still carving to become one of the solid two-man factions in the future. 

This triple-threat was the second best treat for the afternoon, if you ask me, with tons of flawless moves that has left the crowd in awe; except the referee, to do those high-risk maneuvers.

We now hit the second half of Wrevolution X (quite late than the usual) and there's no way to kick things off better than having the four-way battle between Guinto, Imabayashi, Sandata, and then-defending champion Peter Versoza. Another best one for the books, with the Golden Boy finally climbing the summit of success.

However, there's only so much you can do if you're a “downline.” Interesting piece of the puzzle and development in the Network's story. That may have pissed some, but who knows? Seeing the bigger picture (and given the fact that PWR has only been holding shows once a month and making their social media pages telling the stories), we might see an imploding of a faction sooner or later than we expect.

Still, I feel bad for Sandata for not being able to get a big break that he wanted for so long. Oh, does being the top-ranked contendership as one? Well, we mean larger than that. And this could mean another day in the evolution of Imabayashi who's slump continued since losing the PWR Championship a year ago.

That match between Jake de Leon and Billy Suede, though, is such a hands-down pick for being an instant classic. That has put JDL's level into an escalated one. And certainly, we call hope that Billy Suede got an answer for the challenge he clamored for at the expense of Senyorito. 

Props to these two for being the match of the year. Everything, from their club-and-shove exchange and submission holds to their maneuvers and trading signature finishers, was a spotfest. It didn't matter if the match lasted short of 14 or 15 minutes. It is enough to put Philippines into the wrestling map once again.

We may not be talking empowerment or not at the women's international month, but the first match may have been just above par, but showed a huge promise. Yes, especially when they have already three females in the PWR roster now.

Robynn's victory should give her a moral boost, though, records aside. Well, Crystal has been slugging with her male counterparts for almost a long while, and her loss doesn't discount her from the fact that she is the pillar (if not one of the pillars) of PH women's wrestling right now.

Though it probably looked like another John Cena tale (see his 2012-2013 run), but PWR just cemented their second babyface in history in Chris Panzer and his 'road to redemption' story at the expense of long-time rival John Sebastian. I quite love how PWR made their promotional video underrated yet bare enough gist to tell everyone the story that even gods will fall eventually. 

There is no such thing as savior.

Now, we wonder: what's next for Panzer? For sure, this feud would still continue. Climbing the path of gold may be just one huge step to redemption. Defeating the top baby face is just a bit. Humanizing a god is another big one. 

But disarraying yourself from the tag “choke artist” should be another daunting task. Still, I appreciate how Panzer took the ride to the top of PWR right now. It has never been an easy ride.

Despite some botches (very minimum though some were obvious), Wrevolution X turned out to be most solid show the Philippine Wrestling Revolution had to offer in general. It has attracted their biggest attendance ever, provided a stacked card, and a somewhat promising hype.

SPIN.ph is actually right. It's such a shame to be left out in the scorching heat (wish I could say 'cold' though) and missed some prospects and classics. 

It's because I can attest to that.

Author: slickmaster | © 2017 The SlickMaster's Files