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Posted December 2, 2019 by LJ Zenarosa in Entertainment
 
 

Fight for Southeast Asia: FlipGeeks’ PWR VENDETTA 2019 Review

(Words by Paul Elijah Candelaria)

Alright, I just want to start this review of by saying that I am still really bummed that I missed PWR Special: Homecoming. From what my friends who were able to attend here in FlipGeeks HQ told me, it was an event for the ages and the penultimate best show of PWR of 2019. Just thinking of the star power of that show still gives me the blues sometimes. But anyway, let’s move forward shall we?

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Because we’re just a month away from 2020, PWR Vendetta was officially declared as the last show of the decade. Returning to the good ol’ Power Mac Center in Makati, expectations were a bit high for this show because aside from being the final event for 2019, the boys and girls of PWR had some really good storylines and more star power, fresh off the momentum for Homecoming. Everything came to a head last Sunday and overall, everyone was satisfied with the event from start to finish.


Pre-show match: AB3 def. Revo Ranger

It looks like AB3 has completely embraced the dark side that is Endgame. Capitalizing on the Apocalypse’s absence, AB3 continued to prove himself to be a vital member of the stable when he used underhanded tactics to defeat an increasingly impressive looking Revo Ranger by ripping his mask off. Classic heel move there, he even attempted to sell the mask to us during the intermission.

 

SULIT BAYAD MOMENT: MTNH (Imabayashi and Rederick Mahaba) def. The YOLO Twins

This was a great start to the show, as MTNH finally reunited and Imabayashi has concluded his redemption arc that began during the first quarter of the year. They even debuted a new entrance theme complete with an anime intro inspired music video, that really got the Revo-nation going and chanting “SULIT BAYAD!” before the match even officially began. It was also fitting that MTNH’s first match was against The YOLO Twins who previously brainwashed Mahaba into becoming their personal robot and loathing the Wrestler from Shinjuku. It was also evident that the reunited tag team were having so much fun in that match. MTNH ended up picking up the win and was offered by the YOLO Twins a handshake afterwards as a show of sportsmanship. Do we detect a face turn from the Katips resident tag team?

SHOCKER OF THE NIGHT: Crystal def. Nor “Phoenix” Diana (MYPW Wrestlecon Championship)

Crystal is now officially “Crystal 2 Belts”. The Queen of Philippine Wrestling has been riding a tsunami-level wave of momentum recently. After winning the WINDKS Women’s Champion last October, her streak of dominance continued as she added another title to her growing list of accolades by defeating the defending MYPW Wrestlecon champion in the form of Nor “Phoenix” Diana. Given the streak of foreign titles being defended in our homeland by their titleholders, there were some who did not expect Crystal to win–this writer included (not to mention that Phoenix was really good too). But the support for our homegrown superstar outshone the doubts, and that was all that Crystal needed to dig deep in her arsenal in order to pin Phoenix clean for the 1-2-3. As soon as she was announced as the new champion, everyone jumped in surprise and elation. Congratulations, Crystal 2 Belts! You deserve it.

PLOT TWIST OF THE NIGHT: Vlad Sinnsyk def. Chino Guinto (PHX Championship)

For those who missed it, PHX Champion Chino Guinto has been on the receiving end of blindsided attacks as of late, with his fellow wrestlers and finding him beaten down backstage at the end of each show. Well, Chino was not going to lie down and take another beating, coming out to the ring and demanding that his assailant reveal himself/herself, even offering to defend his championship against the faceless attacker. And who came out? Distinct? But as it turns out, he was just there to throw everyone off to the REAL mastermind: The Hand of Judgment himself, who once more attacked Chino from behind after fake-chasing Distinct away before accepting Chino’s title challenge. Storyline-wise, this made perfect sense. The last time The Golden Boy and Sinnsyk battled for the PHX title was at Wrevoultion X in a Three-Way match that also involved then-champion John Sebastian. Vlad may have never gotten over that loss and targeted Chino with a newfound viciousness. Vlad destroyed Chino with 3 muscle busters that Chino was unable to continue with their match, crowning Vlad as your new PHX champion via referee stoppage. Something tells me that things between the two are far from over.

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: The Naughty Boys def. Koponan Tutan (Ubusan ng Lahi Match)

This has Feud of the Year written all over it, and the slow burn leading to this match finally ignited into a giant fireball once the bell rang. Down one more member, The Naughty Boys unveiled their final member on the show itself to be none other than The Renaissance Man, Cali Nueva. Donning a new yellow NICE shirt, Cali flew into battle with the Naughty Boys as they brawled with Tutan’s hate-driven team. The Revo-nation was so deeply invested in this match because man, everyone just HATES Tutan! Definitely proves that his heel work is highly effective, because the heat for him was real. Near the end, the last two standing for each team was Camus, the Naughty Boy member who has failed his friends many many times before, and Tutan himself, the Judas to his former friends who proudly internalizes his motto “Wrestling lang ang iniisip ko.” Camus was clearly the underdog here, as Tutan was more experienced in wrestling. But in true poetic justice fashion, it was him who won the match for his team, finishing Tutan off with a Helluva kick and sending the entire Power Mac center into a frenzy. Friendship prevailed over Hate. This was my favorite match of the night for sure. Oh, and welcome to the Naughty Boys, Cali Nueva!

Chris Panzer def. James “Idol” Martinez (PWR Championship)

What started as a celebration of Panzer’s win over Quatro at PWR: Homecoming soon became an open challenge by MSG to anyone in the locker room “dumb” enough to face Panzermonyo for the title. Without hesitation, Idol answered the challenge and even sought the help of his downlines to keep MSG at bay at one point. But it was not enough for him to overcome the only 3 time champion in PWR history as he succumbed to Panzer’s finisher. Nighty night, Idol.

MSG (Main Maxx and Sandata) def. PWOGs (JDL and Ken Warren)

MSG is on a red hot streak lately. Taking on two of the pioneers of PWR, they indirectly showed their respect to the skills of their more established opponents by throwing everything they could at them. Main Maxx even performed a 619 on Ken Warren! I’m willing to bet no one expected that! Mr. Sy, as usual, tried to interfere but was sent to the back by the referee. Unfortunately for JDL and Ken, they may have forgotten that Panzer was still at ringside, just waiting to strike at the right moment. With the referee distracted, Panzer threw himself into the equation and gave his teammates the extra leverage for them to score a huge win over The Senyorito and the Social Media Sinister.

Jan Evander def. Martivo (All Out Warla match for the All Out War Championship)

After an amazing 2019, Martivo’s momentum finally hit a dead end. In this rematch for the coveted All Out War title, Jan Evander and his Endgame cohorts proved too much for even the Man Doll to overcome, especially in a match where there are virtually no rules. The Pro Wrestling Doctor defeated Martivo to become the new AOW Champion, ripping off the pink ruffles that once decorated the title, ushering in a new era of AOW reign for the Endgame.

Team Pilipinas (JDL, Quatro, Mike Madrigal and KakaiBros) def. Team Malaysia (Shaukat, Harry Ray, Serigala, Tony Abel, Cornelius Low)

The night’s main event turned out to be the most unpredictable one. On paper, it looked like Team Pilipinas was going to bag this one with no sweat, but with a few factors during the buildup, like JDL’s current situtaion after working a match prior to this one, Quatro and Madrigal’s obvious disdain for each other, put an assured victory in rocky waters. And don’t forget Shaukat’s deep-seated resentment for being excluded from Homecoming had him laser focused and motivated to win no matter what. And one more thing, Serigala is SCARY. So the match started with a great battle cry, complete with a tarp of Team Pilipinas as the Katipunan (that was awesome). But the mayhem that followed as both teams brawled all over the Power Mac Center led to a quick elimination of our team captain JDL when he ate all 5 finishers from the Malaysian challengers. Not a good start. Down one man, the one who really stepped up was none other than one half of the KakaiBros, Mh4rckie. With Quatro and Madrigal still not getting along, Mh4rckie took an insane amount of punishment but rallied everytime despite running out of stamina, resulting in a 3 versus 2 standoff in favor of Team Pilipinas. His elimination near the end garnered him a “Thank you Mh4rckie!” chant from the grateful crowd, acknowledging his efforts and tenacity. With the series dead even once more, the unlikely tandem of The Lightbringer and King Kupal himself had no choice but to work as a cohesive unit against an increasingly incensed Prophet of Pain and the towering Serigala. After Serigala was eliminated, at this point, I seriously thought Quatro would pull off a heel turn soon, mainly due to his unwillingness to tag Madrigal in and the look he had as if he didn’t even want to be there, while Madrigal was so hyped and wanted to get into the action so badly, even offering Quatro a bottle of water if he just tags in. Thankfully, both guys put their differences aside and had to combine their offense just to put down Shaukat, who proved to be one tough warrior (he absorbed finishers from both Quatro and Madrigal and still kicked out!). In the end, South East Asian Wrestling won and showed their mettle and capability to compete with anyone on the planet. Props to both teams for never giving up.


So what’s next for 2020? Will Quatro resume his quest to reclaim his lost PWR Championship? Is this finally the end of the animosity between him and Madrigal? What about the Naughty Boys and Tutan? And there’s still Chino Guinto who may have revenge on his mind once he recovers from the brutal beatdown he took from Vlad. Let’s all find out together next year, Revo-Nation!


LJ Zenarosa

 
Nurse by day but a geek 24/7. Cat Lady who loves wrestling. And can eat lots of sweets -- like a LOT.