WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD

Welcome back to H2O and what could very well be the last gasp effort to rid the company of 44OH! After more than a year of occupation, we’ve come full circle as Rickey Shane Page was brought in to take Matt Tremont out for good and now, Matt Tremont was back to take his company’s title back from him. Alongside that, Lucky 13 looked to dethrone Atticus Cogar, Kennedi Copeland issued an open challenge, Gregory Iron, and Eddy Only tried to hijack the H2O Tag Titles and much would happen as H2O could enter its Last November as its own company. it was all on the line with Matt Tremont proving to be its final hope. Let’s get into the carnage.

Marc Angel defeated Jimmy Lyon via Bundle Curb Stomp

The show opened with a bloodbath between the Centre of Attention Marc Angel and Jimmy Chondo Lyon. Tempers were high and the violence was set to match it as the pair looked to beat the hell out of each other. Lyon got glass in his eye early on and chose to fight on whilst trying to wash it away. Angel showed him no quarter and bullied him with more deathmatch toys and verbal abuse. Lyon took advantage of a momentary lapse in Angel’s judgement and made him suffer with a Violence party and foot scrapes. More tubes entered the match and Angel played on Lyon’s sympathy to stomp him through them. That got him the win and ended things early so Chondo could get proper medical attention. It wasn’t pretty but it did its job and I’d much rather Lyon got treated than go twenty minutes in a deathmatch. Given these two, there’ll be a round 2 that’s even nastier.

H2O Tag #1 Contenders Bout: The Lone Rangers (Jeff Cannonball & Mitch Vallen) defeated Alex Stretch & Drew Blood via Ranger’s Tower of Doom on Stretch

Next up was an odd one as Alex Stretch and Drew Blood, two men who nearly killed each other, were now teaming up for a chance at the H2O Tag Titles. Unfortunately, standing in their way were the former champions and resident fun-loving monster team, The Lone Rangers. They’d been without gold for a while, I’d bet they were anxious at a shot to get it back. It started off light-hearted enough with Cannonball and Stretch having fun and quickly descended into a proper fight once Blood felt slighted by Mitch. It wasn’t the most technical of fights but there was a fun dynamic as Blood and Stretch tried to work together, Blood coaching Stretch throughout as they tried to work over the bigger men. Though they found a rhythm it wasn’t enough to get them the win as The Lone Rangers regained control and destroyed Stretch to take the win. They’ve got gold in their sights now and are going to be a tough challenge for whoever’s left standing with those titles.

10-person Elimination Tag: The Kirks (Brandon & Kasey) Adonis Valerio, Bam Sullivan & GG Everson defeated The Extricated (Mouse & Aiden Baal) & White Trash Forever (Rom Mathis, Bruce Grey & Tyler Voxx) via Bam Sullivan’s Temper Tantrum

We went from semi-ordered tag to clusterfuck as the forces of good and evil collided in a ten-person elimination tag. WTF and the Extricated joined forces to take on the villainous side of GG Everson, Adonis Valerio, Bam Sullivan, and the Kirks. This was going to get crazy. It went tits up instantly for Sullivan as he tried to capitalise on Everson’s beating of Mouse and got himself rolled up in about 15 seconds. Of course, Sullivan took this graciously and lit the fuse that turned the match into an all-out brawl. The Kirks craftily got Baal disqualified with the old Guerrero trick and Grey battered around Brandon but found himself rolled up by Kasey. Team Evil was thinning out the numbers as minutes later, Valerio got a pin on Voxx after the Kirks and Everson caused a ruckus. Mathis came in and started taking names with uppercuts, running rough shot on anyone that got in his way. Annoyingly for him, the fight went outside and the Kirks once again struck, keeping him trapped on the outside for a count-out. Mouse was left alone in a one-on-four situation. Team Kirk beat the hell out of him, systematically taking turns to destroy him. Valerio and Everson got too cocky though and Mouse took both out with clever wrestling and impactful DDTs. The Kirks now had to work and Kasey gave chase as Mouse tried to torment her. His plan worked as she followed him under the ring and never returned, getting herself counted out. It was one on one now and Mouse had landed his Stunner and Shiranui but Kasey pulled the ref out. Sullivan rushed back out and low-blowed Mouse into his sit-out DVD, giving Kirk the win and eradicating Team Face. Mouse almost pulled out the perfect comeback there. Through brains and endurance, he’d run the gambit of villains and almost toppled them all. Sadly, Bam Sullivan is a sore loser and ruined the match for him. The road to all that though was pretty good fun. Next show, Mouse and Bam are going to war in a cage match if Mouse gets his way.

Bobby Beverly defeated Devon Moore via Count-out

Stiff fight time. Bobby Beverly, the clobbering cowboy of 44OH! was in the building and he was going one-on-one with the notorious Devon Moore. It would be a clash of styles as Moore prefers speed and shenanigans whilst Beverly enjoys suplexing people on their heads and knocking them out. No matter what though, it was going to get ugly. Sadly though, it never really got going. It started strong with a good old Bev Suplex beatdown and gathered steam as Moore came back with some outside brawling and a chair shot. Deklan Grant came out to distract Moore and Beverly won by count-out. I get it’s a story beat and needed to happen but I’d have loved a bit more match first. It’s always fun watching Bev in action and Moore knows how to sell his ass off. It’s a shame it was cut short so Grant could ambush him. Beverly had one hell of an easy night tonight.

Chuck Payne defeated G-Raver & Deklan Grant via Shopping Trolley Payne Killer

In H2O you reap what you sow. Deklan Grant had sown the seeds of a beatdown and now Chuck Payne and G-Raver were going to deliver it. Payne pursued Grant back into the ring and started killing him, lawn-darting him into a wall. Raver’s music was playing but he was nowhere to be seen, the Serbian Film music providing a soundtrack to the torture of Grant. Just when it seemed he wasn’t showing, he appeared and dived from the rafters of the building. From there, it became a three-way dance where plunder was aplenty, alliances were made and broken and Grant had to fight his way back into things since he was persona non grata. Even the ref wasn’t safe as he was unwillingly caught in the violence going on around him. Barbed-wire bats and chairs made their way into the fight and met bodies with glee. The Monster lived up to his name as he ended up the last man standing and the one most willing to cause a massacre, giving Grant even more special attention from the wire. Raver made sure his presence was felt but Payne and a ladder made sure he couldn’t win it all. Everyone ended this match bloody, bruised, and knackered as they’d thrown, bludgeoned, and beaten each other with multiple heavy objects. Raver was taken out of things for good with a Shopping Trolley Powerslam and Devon Moore came out to make sure Grant couldn’t win. Payne made sure Moore’s work went to good use and ended things with a Payne Killer on the Shopping Trolley. This had been pure unbridled pandemonium and I fucking loved it. This match hurt but it also delivered that visceral thrill you want from a match like this. No one and nothing was spared as these three tore the house down.

H2O Tag Titles: Chris Bradley & Kristian Ross defeated 44OH! (Eddy Only & Gregory Iron) via Full Time Combo on Iron

It was time for our first title match of the night. The Full Time Bosses, Kristian Ross and Chris Bradley were going to put their titles on the line once again against the forces of 44OH!! This time though, it would be against Second Hand Smoke, the unit of Eddy Only and Gregory Iron. It was going to be an uphill battle for 44OH! though as they were at a massive size disadvantage. They found this out quickly and had to rely on tricks and traps to get Bradley separated and beaten down. In an odd twist of fate, when both Only and Bradley were down, we saw Iron become a hot tag. That has to be a first, right? Throughout this one, we actually saw a lot of cool moves from Iron and Only. They had their moves, moments and heinous deeds but eventually, after a mishap with a lit cigarette, they met their maker. I expected this to be a bit of a throwaway comedy match but it was actually competitive fun with Only and Iron getting a bit more serious than their usual.

H2O Hybrid Title: Kennedi Copeland defeated Billie Starkz, Marcus Mathers & Austin Luke via Roll-up on Luke

Originally, this was going to be Kennedi Copeland vs Charli Evans but plans had to change. Now she was left without a challenger and a lot to say. There was now an open challenge and she was taking on all comers. Billie Starkz came out first followed by Austin Luke followed by Marcus Mathers. It was now a four-way and Copeland’s night just got a lot more unpredictable. For a lot of the action here, Copeland didn’t even get a look in. Mathers and Luke continue to boil with hatred after their Destiny encounter, Billie Starkz pushed everyone to their limit, especially Luke who kept taking her way too lightly. Once everyone fully got into things it became a competitive, vicious and fun little encounter with everyone firing on all cylinders. It might have been a last-minute match but it definitely flowed well, gave everyone a spotlight and proved once again that no matter what the odds are, you should always bet on Copeland. Also, do not try to insult or disrespect her or pop-punk, she will try to kill you…

Danny Havoc Hardcore Title: Lucky 13 defeated Atticus Cogar via Half-Package Piledriver

Fire up the Babymetal because we’ve got a fired-up Lucky 13 coming out to fight. With Atticus Cogar holding the Danny Havoc Hardcore Title and seeming unstoppable, it had fallen to one of H2O’s best veterans and Tik Tok stars to take that title back for team H2O. This was going to get highly personal and pretty nasty. 13 could barely keep his emotions in check and Cogar was going to make full use of that. It got heated very quickly as the duo tore up the venue as they tried to kill each other. 13 looked to have things under his control until a trashcan to the face threw him off entirely. He waited until Cogar’s attitude got the better of him and bust Cogar open too. Despite the blood loss, Cogar kept things in his control and made sure to slowly beat, stab and mock 13 for his efforts. That went out the window when Cogar threw the title into a trashcan, infuriating 13. He put Cogar through hell but nothing seemed to keep him down, even a trashcan Swanton only got two. The could be said for 13 though who kicked out of an Air Raid Crash onto a chair. 13 took Cogar out with an Apron ARC and left him on a chair platform for another dive but he took himself out by hitting nothing but chairs. Even that, the skewers and a Brain Haemorrhage couldn’t stop 13. That pissed Cogar off to the point that he ripped the Danny Havoc banner off the wall and prepared to dump 13 on it. That would be his undoing as 13 fired up and took Cogar out with his own move into the Half-Package Piledriver. Lucky 13 had done it. He had dethroned Cogar and brought the title back to H2O. It had been a hard-fought, personal battle of wits and wills as both men fought the pain, blood loss and attitude to put on this showcase. Goddamn, this was good. 13 went from a Very Good Deathmatch Wrestler to a Very Good Deathmatch Champion.

H2O Heavyweight Title no-ropes barbed-wire Lumberjack match: Matt Tremont defeated Rickey Shane Page via Super Bundle DVD

Last but not least, the main event. When all else fails, sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. Matt Tremont vowed when RSP beat him last year, he was done. That was out the window now as Onita and 44OH! had pushed him to this. His company was being held hostage and he was going to have to be the one to free it, in his favourite match type, the no-rope barbed-wire match. This was the last stand of H2O, if Tremont couldn’t bring that title back, no one could. There would be no running from this one either as there were lumberjacks at the ready. RSP learned that instantly as he tried to bail and quickly had to retreat. Fortunately for him, there was also a 44OH! side and he bailed out there to grab some weaponry. They duelled with barbed-wire bats and RSP instantly drew blood with a shot to the head. Both guys met the wire and RSP had a bat smashed into his gut. RSP wasn’t going to back down though and pummelled Tremont before feeding him to the 44OH! side. He was thrown back in and RSP worked him over with a bat, carving him with more wire. He upped the ante with a barbed-wire 2×4 and threw a bottle of lighter fluid to his goons to open. He was about to set the 2×4 alight but spent too much time taunting and earned more bat shots from Tremont. RSP bailed to the wrong side of town and felt the wrath of the lumberjacks. Tremont crushed RSP with a splash and RSP bailed again, getting yet another H2O lumberjack beating. RSP was thrown in again and felt the sting of the 2×4 as Tremont turned it on him. Once again, RSP ambushed Tremont and fed him to the 44OH! jackals. The pair danced around the wire again as RSP threw Tremont from section to section, watching the wire rip at him. Tremont started to fire up again as RSP tried to invoke Havoc was laughing from above but that fire was extinguished by another trip to the 44OH! side.

The lumberjacks started brawling amongst each other and Tremont knocked them and 44OH! out with a monstrous dive through the barbed wire. Tremont teed off on RSP again and covered the ring in broken glass. That bit Tremont in the ass though as RSP dumped him into it with a Pedigree. That barely got one and Tremont threw himself into it again landing a back elbow, making RSP follow with a DDT. They both beat the ten-count and Tremont had boxes of tubes brought in. RSP was brained with tubes for each victim he had left behind in H2O. It was a continuous assault that left RSP begging for mercy. If this was to be RSP’s last deathmatch then he was going to remember it through a web of cuts, scars and broken glass. Tremont hit a Samoan Drop onto a bundle and dragged RSP up to hit that famous DVD onto a super bundle. The Bulldozer had bested RSP and that title was finally back in the hands of the company. This was brutal, tense and masterfully paced. A whole year of pain and misery was laid bare and avenged in a 20+ minute war of attrition. Once again, these two proved to be the masters of bloody storytelling and finally put one of the greatest indie feuds, the greatest of deathmatch horror stories to rest. Cogar was not ready to accept this and freaked out as RSP showed his sportsmanship to Tremont. That handshake was felt around the world as the two made peace and RSP handed Tremont the title. He didn’t keep it though. The title was relinquished and the future of the company will fight once again to be the future of the company. Words fail me at this point. This was fucking awesome and now, the future looks bright as the cloud of 44OH! has dissipated and the title is once again up for grabs. It was the perfect ending to another exceptional show.

All images courtesy of H2O, Ami Moregore, Chris Grasso

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