Recapped: 2020-05-10
Demonio Infernal beat Arez in a tournament semifinal match
(4:24, ok, 00:07:27)
Demonio Infernal/Arez seemed to be a victim of the structure. They went full out for the sub-five minutes they went, but it felt like they went quick because they had all they had. It was also a victim of not using the advantages of the format. They recovered from the messed up poison rana fine, but they didn’t really need to recover. They could’ve just restarted the match. There were a couple of other points that didn’t seem like they went exactly right or were otherwise peculiar. Demonio Infernal did show he could keep up with Arez speed, and Arez didn’t struggle to work against a bigger guy. Hope we get to see this again in another situation.
Ricky Marvin beat Aramis in a tournament semifinal match
(4:51, good, 00:08:08)
Another quick sprint, the last few minutes of what could’ve been a good long match where I’m left mixed about if there was enough there to make it worthwhile. It was close, even if it drifted off from what story they were telling to start. Ricky doing a bit where he’s grabbing Aramis around the head with his legs and then slamming his own knees into the mat was a peculiar choice in a tournament where his knee injury is the only story. (I guess the other story is kicking at one is the most suicidal thing you can do since both guys who’ve done it got pinned immediately after.) The big moves were great when they got to them, there just could’ve been more to it.
Ricky Marvin beat Demonio Infernal in a tournament final match
(9:24, good, 00:13:09)
The tournament finished well enough, with the final getting a good bit of time and some drama to it. Ricky’s DDTs have looked impressively brutal during the tournament. All that knee work really didn’t lead to anything interesting in the final, though Demonio Infernal was the wrong guy to have in there for that sort of tease. Demonio did raise his stock the most in the tournament; he doesn’t get the super indie bookings outside of IWRG but felt like he could hang with all those guys. There are parts of where he could use some polish, but kept the matches interesting. Ricky Marvin was at the level we’ve seen from him the last couple of years. He makes his matches feel important, even if sometimes they come off as a bit one-sided. There was no doubt he was going to win this final, but they still kept it entertaining.