Sunday, September 1, 2013

Wrestling is Respect Quest To Be Best Review

Eight Men battle for the right to be called "The Best"!

Wrestling is Respect: Quest To Be Best
Boonton, New Jersey 6/30/13

All eight participant in the tournament pose for an in-ring picture.

1.) Quest To Be Best Quarter-Finals - Frank O'Rourke vs. Anthony Stone: **3/4

I really like O'Rourke's "Frank 3:16" T-Shirt. Stone would get some offense in but this was pretty much a competitive squash for O'Rourke. Stone took some sick bumps in a match that sees O'Rourke advance to the next round. Stone would need help to the back.

2.) Quest To Be Best Quarter-Finals - Matt Taven vs. Gran Akuma: ***1/4

Taven comes into this as the reigning ROH World TV Champions, and the commentators mention this as well as his time in ROH (such as the fact that there was no "Hoopla" at ringside with Taven). A very solid match that sees the veteran Akuma get the win and advancing to the next round.

3.) Quest To Be Best Quarter-Finals - Drew Gulak vs. Jervis Cottonbelly: ***1/4

This was easily Jervis Cottonbelly's best match in 2013 and no surprise that it came against Gulak. It's nice to see Jervis have a competitive match for once. A solid technical contest that sees Gulak pick up the win which sends him to the next round.

4.) Quest To Be Best Quarter-Finals - Arctic Rescue Ant vs. Green Ant: ***1/4

Here we a small part of the overall rivalry between the Colony & it's cheap knock-offs. This was actually a pretty good match, though the outcome is no real surprise as Green Ant gets the win and moves on.

5.) Quest To Be Best Semi-Finals - Frank O'Rourke vs. Gran Akuma: ***1/4

Once again, we get a very solid match on this show. Both guys gave it their all but it would be O'Rourke getting the win and moving on to the finals

6.) Quest To Be Best Semi-Finals - Drew Gulak vs. Green Ant: ***1/2

A really good match here. These two are pretty familiar with each other, and it showed here with a great match. Green Ant would escape with the win and advance to the finals. 

7.) The Colony: Xtreme Force (Missile Assault Ant & Orbit Adventure Ant) vs. The Baltic Seige (The Estonian ThunderFrog & Lithuanian Snow Troll): **3/4

Here we have an interesting clash of characters. Nothing really fantastic, but a pretty fun match. ThunderFrog lost his patience when the Xtreme Force wouldn't wrestle and kept shouting their names. In the end, however, the Xtreme Force would get the win via a distraction from Arctic Rescue Ant and a 450 Splash from Orbit Adventure Ant.

After the match, Gavin Loudspeaker revealed that it was the Snow Troll's Birthday, and led everyone in singing "Happy Birthday" to him.

8.) Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw & The Shard) vs. Delirious & Leech Landa: ***1/4

Delirious faced both member of Pieces of Hate in singles matches on the first two shows but this time brings a partner in the form of Leech Landa. A pretty good tag team encounter. Haven't seen much of Leech Landa but he shows here that he can hang with the big boys. Unfortunately, he would end getting pinned after a superkick from Jigsaw.

9.) Quest To Be Best Finals - Frank O'Rourke vs. Green Ant: ****

Green Ant comes out in his Patriotic Green Ant Mask that he used in CHIKARA during his feud with Tursas (since it was a few days before the 4th of July). This was a great main event. Not only great wrestling, but still stuff from both guys. In a war of a match that saw chairs used and O'Rourke get busted open, it would be Frank O'Rourke who would get the win and is the Quest To Be Best Tournament Winner.

Overall: 8.25/10

This was by far the best "Wrestling is..." Show to date (taking the top spot from Wrestling is Art Pop). Not a singe match was bad and everything was entertaining. The show let us see some of the true bright spots of the "Wrestling is..." Promotions such as Frank O'Rourke, Drew Gulak & Green Ant as well as one of the better "Wrestling is..." Promotions in Wrestling is Respect. All of the Tournament matches were solid and the tag team matches were entertaining. Overall a great show, and if you're going pick a "Wrestling is..." Show, make it this one.

Here is a highlight video of the show I found on Youtube:

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