Welcome back to Violence x Suffering wrestling. This is one of their biggest, definitely in terms of matches and star-power to date. The independent cross-generational powerhouse company has brought some of the best from the scene to battle again. We’d see JTG vs Mance Warner, 2 Cold Scorpio vs Ken Broadway, Lucky 13 vs Kevin Blackwood, Jordan Oliver vs Dante Leon, and perhaps the oddest of them all Jimmy Lloyd vs the Zombie Princess Jimmy Jacobs. There’s all that and more so let’s get into the violence and the suffering.

Jordan Oliver defeated Dante Leon via Boston Crab

Up first was a battle of the young guns. The new ace of VxS Jordan Oliver wanted a fight and he had asked for one of the company’s newest additions, Dante Leon. I hadn’t seen much of Leon but the gifs I had glimpsed made him look like someone who was going to give Oliver a fight. Bloody hell we certainly got one. This was 20 minutes of high-impact, cleverly paced, and just outright outlandish wrestling. Both guys had clearly done their research on each other and went all-out to cut the other off at every opportunity. Leon dropped jaws with an array of unique flipping moves, high-impact striking, and daredevil antics whilst also battling Oliver over who could do the wildest cutter. Meanwhile, Oliver once again showed he’d developed more of a technical base and showed another level of aggression in his striking before gaining one final killer counter to stop Leon from hitting a gif-worthy move and score the win. Technique and preparation gained Oliver the win but it had been far from easy. I’d have written a whole essay trying to do play-by-play for this match, it was that packed. This is how you open a show and I desperately hope they bring Dante Leon back very soon.

Kevin Blackwood defeated Lucky 13 via Diving Double Stomp

Holy shit my nickname was used. For those who don’t read regularly, I wrote the Aesthetic Crippler in the last VxS review Blackwood fought at, he noticed it and seemed to approve. As you can imagine I was taken aback when I heard it used here. Anyway, back to the action, Lucky 13 and Blackwood were about to have one hell of a stiff fight. Both hit heavily and both can lock you up without a second thought, talk about a dream match. It lived up to the hype too. It went from an ugly outside brawl to a beautiful wrestling match as the pair found just how evenly matched they were. There were strikes galore, counters galore and both getting to show off their own unique brand of violence. 13 took not one but two nasty spills onto chairs and Blackwood took one hell of a nasty Air Raid Crash onto the ring apron. Once again, both guys in the match came prepared and the fans won as we were treated to another classic. I would love to see a rematch of this down the line just to enjoy seeing the two try to kill each other again.

Gabriel Skye defeated Façade (w/Dani Mo) & KC Navarro via Small Package on Facade

After that, we got a triple-threat of high-flying superstars. It would be the Neon Ninja vs the Blessed One vs one of the fastest-rising guys in VxS, Gabriel Skye. Despite the loss to Oliver, Skye is gaining momentum and this match was another way for him to keep getting better against some of the best high-flyers on the scene. This was as chaotic as you’d expect. Navarro tried to take a backseat early on and watch Façade and Skye fight before taking a more active role in the action. The pair fought around the ring and spent numerous times flying over or walking on the ropes. Façade was on top form; Navarro was trying to pick his spots and play the other two against each other and Skye just kept going for the kill. He got the big win by tanking a Doomsday Poisonrana and reversing Facades fold-up finish into a small package. Smarts had won the day and given Skye a big win against two game opponents. This didn’t drag and we got a fun little flip and fight fest.

The Meadowlands Monster Bruno defeated John Tella via Thumbtack Spinebuster

So, this seemed like a bit of a waste of time. We had “Scumbag” John Tella taking on Bruno, the Meadowlands Monster in a sub-4-minute match. Bruno popped his shoulder in under a minute and the ref tried to help set it back. He was going to call off the match when Bruno attacked one-armed and wondered why Tella was winning. This was the first proper brawl as we had signs and tacks enter the match. There were some gnarly spots like a tack piledriver and the big finish but overall, it was just a waste of time. The second Bruno got injured it should have just been called off instead of limping to this finish. Accidents happen, just stop the match when they do. Absolutely no-one was happy with this and I feel like it just did the wrestlers a disservice in the process. It could have been a fun brawl but once again, accidents happen and they should have just stopped.

MV Young defeated Nicholi White via Running Knee

Hey, do you forget to drink your water? Well, this match was about to remind you. It was the MFN Polyam King taking on the returning Babushka Boy Nicholi White. We got a glimpse at what White could do at the last show, but what would he be able to do against Young? He definitely tried out there but Young was all business tonight. Limited mind games, limited taunts, all violence. He had White’s number for a lot of the match and really showed just how good he really was. He was hitting devastating suplexes left right and centre and nearly KO’ing White with his strikes. To his credit, White had excellent flurries of offence but when it came down to it, this was Young’s match and he wasn’t playing nice today. As per usual, Polyam Cult rules state any match involving MV Young are automatic 7-star affairs. This was no exception. It was an excellent showcase for both guys and Young getting an all-important win in the company plus, we really got to see the damage he can inflict when he really wants to.

2 Cold Scorpio defeated Ken Broadway via Drop the Bomb Tumbleweed

Okay, this one was unexpected. One of the best there’s ever been taking on one of the best around now. 2 Cold Scorpio has been really building some amazing matches in VxS against the younger generations and now, he was going to take a shot at Ken Broadway. This was definitely a money match. Oh man, this hit hard. Scorpio is still in top form despite all his years in the business and he unloaded some absolute bombs on Broadway. This wasn’t a soft match, it hit hard, it kicked hard and Scorpio kept up the whole time. The things Scorpio can still do and the athleticism that Broadway has despite his size are insane. It took a slow-burn approach and built to some amazing feats from both guys by the end. Scorpio pulling off the Tumbleweed for the win was so fun and the reactions from commentary made it all the sweeter. This is how I wish all veteran wrestling matches would go. Normal length match, no punches pulled, and all violent athleticism. Scorpio is having a killer 2021. Broadway too even if his win streak is a bit all over the place.

Jimmy Lloyd defeated Jimmy Jacobs via Chair Platform Package Piledriver

Who saw this one coming? Anyone at all? I don’t believe you. We’ve seen Jimmy Lloyd battling the obscure stars but somehow, I never thought we’d see him take on the Zombie Princess Jimmy Jacobs. This was going to get wild and most likely, very hardcore. Jacobs instantly threw Lloyd off his game by starting the match with a kiss instead of a fist bump. From there we got a hardcore bout of spiking, stapling, chair shots, and trashcans. Lloyd and Jacobs hit each other with everything they had and everything they could find. Jacobs had Lloyd bleeding quite badly from the head after repeated spike shots and nearly killed the Different Boy on several occasions. Lloyd was able to withstand the damage and found his moments to strike, even stapling Jacobs’ tongue to the turnbuckle at one point. This was by far the most violent match so far and as a Jimmy Jacobs fan one of my favourites of the night. It was all the violence you could want, mixed with clever psychology and crisp wrestling. Jacobs can still go and honestly, I just want another hardcore run from him. Give me more zombie princess murder shows. Lloyd might have gotten the big win but he ended the segment on his face as Jordan Oliver made a power play and all but secured a match between the pair at Tampa.

Brian Cage defeated Matt Cross via Drill Claw 

Brian Cage is back in VxS. After a multitude of awesome bouts for the company, he was back and he was taking on another athletic monster in Matt Cross. This one could go either way as both Cage and Cross are well-travelled veterans of the game with a whole ton of explosive offence. Well, this was the sleeper hit match of the show. Both guys here told the story of strength vs speed and it was told through to the very end. Momentum shifted on a dime as the pair continued to trade power for speed for reversals for just straight-up kill shots. Both guys had their stretches of dominance then, before you knew it, the other was back in control. We saw both take continuous finishing shots or power moves until eventually Cage got a KO knee strike and dropped Cross on his head a final time with the Drill Claw for the win. I knew this one was going to be good but it blew my expectations out of the water.

JTG defeated Mance Warner via The Brooklyn Edge

Last but not least, the main event. JTG was back and he was here to fight. How do you prove that? By going one on one in the main event against the Southern Psycho Mance Warner. This was going to be something special. Guess what? It was absolutely batshit insane. They fought everywhere around the venue beating each other from pillar to post. We had chair shots, fridge shots, tray shots and so much more. We had a Mancer shit-talking segment as he trash-talked the crowd, ordered the ref around and beat down JTG as he held a mic in his hand. It was ridiculous fun and got so intense at one point management pulled the pair apart and JTG stormed off in a huff. Only for him to reappear seconds later and dive onto the whole group, taking out a couple of fans in the process. This went 25 minutes and hit just as hard as any other bout here. Mance was hilarious, then violent then, both at the same time whilst JTG was trying to use a power advantage to keep Mance down only to get KO’ed with chair shots. This was a very brawl-heavy bout that gave it the main event feel and separated it from everything else on the card. it was wild fun and gave JTG a hardcore win over a hardcore icon in Mance. This was not what I was expecting at all but I definitely enjoyed it.

With that, the show looked to end with a feel-good JTG win and he was going to comment on his burning desire to fight Nick Gage. But that wasn’t in the cards for this show. Someone evil was about to invade VxS. Someone you’d have never considered. Dr. Cube and his henchmen from Kaiju Big Battel were here and they had some choice actions for JTG. Dr. Cube is invading and if JTG wants a shot at Gage, he’ll have to go through him first. VxS just gained the most unlikely of villains and I feel JTG’s journey just got a whole lot harder. That ended the show on a mysterious note and we’re all left on edge until Tampa. All roads lead to Florida as we’ll see the fallout of Oliver/Lloyd and this new story between JTG and Dr. Cube. This show, whilst clocking in at over three hours, was really damn fun to watch. It was packed with amazing talent, amazing matches, and bar the ill-advised Tella/Bruno match, rolled on incredibly smoothly. I still stand by how cool VxS is and can’t wait to see what they do in Tampa.

All images courtesy of VxS Twitter, Nick Karp, 2ndgunny, Jocay19

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