{"id":12165,"date":"2019-04-20T21:37:38","date_gmt":"2019-04-20T20:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=12165"},"modified":"2019-04-20T21:37:50","modified_gmt":"2019-04-20T20:37:50","slug":"hope-84-full-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/20\/hope-84-full-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope 84 – Full Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Jake Clarke @JakeCCK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOPE Evolution 84: See you on the Kip side, Superbad leaves<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

19\/04\/19, Forest town arena, Mansfield<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back\nagain with another HOPE review as I returned to Mansfield for Kip Sabians last\nMansfield show hence the incredible show name, \u2018See you on the Fip side\u2019. This\nwas also my thirteenth show of the year. So, heading into this show I probably\nwasn\u2019t as excited as what I have been for previous events. It was a fine card,\nbut you know, I just wasn\u2019t optimistic and you know what, I think I was fair to\nbe that way. Let\u2019s run through the show and I will explain what I thought was\nlackluster about the show and what was great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake McCluskey defeats Tommy Kyle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tommy\nKyle made his Mansfield debut against a man making his Mansfield return, Mr\nJake McCluskey. McCluskey always delivers and he did tonight in this opener\nwith Tommy Kyle. The crowd were relatively good throughout this first half. The\nmatch began with a lockup and the technical basics with Jake getting the edge\non the lesser experienced Kyle. From then onwards the match took a faster pace\nand it felt like constantly Jake would gain the upper hand, just proving to be\na tad smarter in his delivery of offence. Eventually, Tommy would gain control\ngrounding McCluskey and working on him methodically. He then hit a springboard\nforearm for a close 2 count. McCluskey would then regain control, taking it to\nKyle and would put him away with that wicked inverted Michonoku Driver face\nslam thing. Great move. A really good back and forth contest to kick off the\nshow. Both men looked good and a win for Jake on his first show back gives him\nsome good momentum going into future shows. McCluskey also looks like a really\nserious wrestler which adds some legitimacy to his character, he doesn\u2019t really\ndo a lot of the Moonsault-schtick now and he’s became a very good all-round\nperformer. His gear is beautiful too. So, book him everyone. I dare you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warren Banks defeats Alexander Hyde to become Hardcore champion <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nmatch was another one of the better things on the show. The only minor issue\nwith it is that it didn\u2019t feel like a hardcore match in places, but I don\u2019t\nthink that effected the match overall because it was still solid. Probably\nHyde\u2019s best match in a HOPE ring so far. Anyway, the match began with a chair\noff, both men hitting their chairs together which caused a loud noise which\nhurt my ears. The strikes started flowing afterwards and it went to the\noutside. Banks chased Hyde around the ring and through a toy dinosaur at him\nwhich was funny. Hyde responded by throwing a chair at his face. The match went\nback into the ring and a ladder was brought into the match. Warren Banks took a\nmassive back body drop onto the ladder which looked painful to say the least.\nFrom this point onwards is where the hardcore kind of stopped and we went to a\nwrestling match, but it was solid nonetheless. After some great back and forth,\nHyde bought out some mini eggs and scattered them across the mat. Warren would\ndown him though and feed Hyde an egg. This caused Hyde to hulk up only to\nreceive a spear for his troubles which put him down for the three count. You\nknow what, this was really entertaining, the wrestling was great as it always\nis when these two step in a ring and they put on a really fun match. Putting\nthe belt on Warren may have been a good choice in the long run thinking about\nit because the guy can do hardcore matches really well so I’m excited to see\nwhere it goes although I can\u2019t help but feel bad for Hyde because a good reign\nwith the Hardcore belt could have potentially raised his stock within the\ncompany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-Fun Police (Los Federales Super Santos Jr and Chief Deputy Dunne)\ndefeat Escaping the Midcard (Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nbest match on the show for me. Was really great to have four top talents goat\nit in what I dare say was a really fun match. I do have to say TK looked\nuncomfortable at first but I think as the match went on he gradually became\ncomfortable. The match began with Mambo and TK noticing me in the second row\nwearing their merch and me and the guys had a lovely moment where we just you\nknow, it was magical. Moving on, the match began with Mambo and Dunne taking it\nto the mat which resulted in Mambo doing that wicked phone into a wristlock\nspot he does. Dunne then tried to do it back and the ETM boys weren\u2019t having\nany of it. Federales then took the call which was great but it resulted in\nMambo still continuing control. I have to say this match all the way through\nwas great comedically. TK and Federales then came in and they had a shoulder\nblock contest, neither man was able to ground the other. They then did some\nsmooth sequence stuff which resulted in a flip from Federales because he is\nagile and well good. TK then did a kip up, messed it up and did another one and\nlanded on his feet. The crowd then encouraged Federales to do a kip up but he\nfailed to do it three times. After TK laughed at Federales, Federales pulled\nthe gun out but TK kicked it up into the air and both guys just looked at the\nceiling for a solid minute. Then out of nowhere, Federales delivered a huge\nforearm to TK. From here on, some great wrestling happened, double team moves\nand some rad spots. The finish came with a roll up but I feel like that was a\nsuitable choice with how the match was. Overall, great match, the four guys\nshared good chemistry, the wrestling was really crisp. TK does a beautiful\nstanding shooting star press. It was also comedic gold this match and\neverything worked. I wouldn\u2019t say it was anything too memorable but it was\nstill lots of funnahhhh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rene Dupree defeats Cara Noir<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weird\ndecision from a fan’s perspective to put Rene over Cara who it seemed like they\nmight\u2019ve been building up as a potential challenger to Jack Jester\u2019s\nchampionship. Maybe if the finish ended in interference, I could have accepted\nit. This match was physical from the get-go. Rene came out to applause but that\nsoon ended as the crowd quickly became pro-Cara. The match didn\u2019t begin with\nyour typical lock up, it started with the two men kicking the piss out of each\nother. Cara began with the advantage but eventually Renes power would be too\nmuch for Noir. They would exchange chops and power moves all match long. A\nconvincing near fall came from  a snap\nGerman, superkick and brain buster onto knee combo from Cara to Dupree but\nDupree kicked out at 2. The finish would come when Rene would hit a huge splash\nonto Cara for the three count and a shock win. This match was technically good,\nprobably the best match I have seen Rene have. Rene just looked really slow in\nparts, you could tell he was trying but it came across as half assed which I\nknow it wasn\u2019t. This was where the weird booking decisions began. Like I said\ngood match, hard-hitting stuff, was 100% my graps but just the result caused it\nto fall flat with some audience members and as I said, from a fans perspective,\nthe result didn\u2019t make much sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ninterval was next and I tell you it felt like it was going on forever. Must’ve\ngone at least 20-25 minutes. I spoke to TK Cooper and a couple other people but\nafter that it felt like I was waiting around forever. Not good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Chase defeats \u2018Diamond\u2019 Dave Andrews by countout to retain the King\nof Flight championship. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nwrestling was good throughout this match, tacky in places but it wasn\u2019t bad.\nThere were some decent spots like a backdrop on the apron and some decent near\nfalls but it just didn\u2019t feel like it was a match that was a part of a blood\nfeud between former partners. Chase won what was a fine match with a low blow\nto DDA on the outside which got DDA counted out. The feud\u2019s obviously going to\ncontinue which as well isn\u2019t something I\u2019m overly keen on. Looking at this\nmatch then, the match as I have mentioned was technically fine but I felt like\nI was watching the same match from last month and therefore it was hard to keep\nengaged. I’m trying to sound fair in all of my criticisms of the show. This\nfeud is supposed to be former tag partners that are now embroiled in this blood\nfeud and I feel that if they wanted to add something to these matches then a\nstipulation maybe would have worked. Like I said I struggled to keep engaged\nand a stip added on may have helped. They might be leading to something but I\nliterally cannot tell what it is. Furthermore, it feels like the King of Flight\nchampionship is now just a side accessory within a feud. That title is supposed\nto be one of the more prestigious belts in the company but now it\u2019s an\nafterthought and something that just brings these two together, the belt never\nneeded to be involved in the feud. So I guess my main criticisms are that the\nfeud doesn\u2019t feel like a blood rivalry and that the second most important title\nwithin the company is now essentially a tool to continue a feud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing to Prove ( LK Mezinger and Elijah) defeat Jack Cave and Sugar\nDunkerton by disqualification to retain the HOPE tag team titles. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ.\nIf it wasn\u2019t for the controversial finish, I might\u2019ve said this match was my\nfavourite of the night. It had it all, good comedy, good wrestling and a great\nstory. That story being that Cave couldn\u2019t get the job done and he did at the\nend, or at least we thought he did. So the match began with Suge beating down\nboth NTP boys and then tagging Cave who accidentally hit Suge. They then\nstarted arguing with either NTP member continuously trying to break it up but\nCave and Suge would stop it. Every time Suge would go for a cool move, Cave\nwould tag in which was funny. I have to say this was Cave\u2019s best ever\nperformance. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019d agree but he was convincing and he sold well\nas well as delivering his moves well. He looks like he is improving which is\ngood because I really like his character. Eventually, NTP would take control,\nbattering Cave but Cave kept kicking out showing major resilience. Cave would\nfight back and Suge told Jack to get the tables but then decided not to because\nhe didn\u2019t want to get disqualified. They then went for the 3D but LK broke it\nup, taking Suge out with a huge clothesline. NTP then hit Cave with a forearm\nin the corner, followed by an LK cannonball and a beautiful coast to coast from\nElijah but Cave kicked out at 1.  Shane\nMcMahon is sitting somewhere, pissed off that Cave just kicked out at 1 from\nhis finisher. After Cave took out Elijah and had LK in the corner but LK pulled\nthe ref in the way which resulted in Cave taking the ref out. Magic Mark Adams\nwho was managing the two got another ref and then Cave and Suge hit LK with the\n3D to win the HOPE tag team titles and Cave finally got his first win. Wait,\nno. The original ref came and ruined the celebrations, disqualifying Suge and\nJack, I’m assuming because Jack ran into the ref. This led to Nothing to Prove\nretaining which garnered heat to them. On twitter, I said this was a horrible\nfinish and essentially took a large shit on it. This is storyline progression\nat the end of the day and I’m a sucker for a good long-term storyline, which\nthis of course is. I do believe that this was an appropriate time for Cave to\nget his first win but is what it is. It also makes Elijah and LK mega heels. I\ndo think whilst the finish was creative, it wasn\u2019t executed very well and\nthat\u2019s why it kind of killed the match for me. My issue with this match overall\nis just that I would\u2019ve booked it differently. I was legit pissed at the finish\nso ultimately, I got worked bro. Good job all involved, great match. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Slayer defeats Kyle Kingsley<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nwas weird. For starters, Kyle had to come out to his babyface theme because the\nsound guy played the wrong one. This must\u2019ve been a rib. This whole match felt\nlike a rib actually. From the get-go, Brad was just getting the upper hand on\nKyle, out wrestling him continuously. Thinking about it I don\u2019t think Kingsley\nhad an actual control segment. Brad shone throughout this match and he is one\nof my favourite guys. After some good back and forth, Brad locked Kingsley in a\nEuropean clutch pin predicament. The ref counted the three but then decided\nthat Kingsley\u2019s shoulder was up. It wasn\u2019t. So was this supposed to be the\nfinish? Looked like it.  From then on,\nthe lads continued having a wrestle until Brad finished Kyle off with a sunset\nflip powerbomb off the middle rope. This was weird because like Kyle is a top\nguy and Brad isn\u2019t around often. If this means a mini push for Brad, then I\nwill be elated because Brad deserves it. \nit probably won\u2019t be that though. I also wasn\u2019t too big of a fan of Brad\nplaying up to the crowd. When he was at HOPE last time and when he was at\nRevPro, he was a serious wrestler who looked like he could kick the shit out of\nanyone. Whereas because of the playing up to the crowd, it felt really\npantomime. I get that the crowd needs to be involved, just wasn\u2019t a fan. It was\na fun little match though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kip Sabian defeats Hustle Malone <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\na match. Easily the best match I\u2019ve ever seen Hustle have. I probably would\u2019ve\nappreciated the match more if it didn\u2019t start at 10:25pm and I wasn\u2019t bloody\nknackered. The match began with Kip going straight for Hustle with dropkicks in\nthe corner. Hustle thought back. This match contained some great spots and some\nreally good near falls. Hustle hit Kip with his spinning facebuster thing. Kip\nhit his tornado DDT. They managed to keep some of the crowd going at this part\nas well. Eventually, Kip won with a gorgeous burning hammer. This match as I\nmentioned was really great. It was a good sendoff match for Kip. I think maybe\nit would\u2019ve been better for the company to put over Hustle because that would\nhave raised his stock drastically. I think also it could\u2019ve been cool if his\nlast match was with somebody, he had history with in HOPE like Cara Noir. As I\nsaid though a good main event to end a mixed show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall: <\/strong>A really mixed show with a few weird booking decisions. A couple of good\nmatches though that pulled the show back into decent. Probably the weakest show\nof the year so far but definitely not a bad show. Their next show is Friday\nApril twenty sixth, a star studded card with Aussie Open, Chris Brookes etc.\nCome along at Club Republic at Leicester, it’s an over 18 show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matches to check out: Anti Fun Police vs Escaping the Midcard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow\n@JakeCCK for wrestling show coverage and discussions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect\ntwo reviews from me next weekend as I have HOPE again and Wrestling Resurgence!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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