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Defy Wrestling "Final Fantasy"
May 16, 2025, in Seattle, Washington at Washington Hall
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
They always pack this venue with about 400-500 fans. Lighting is just okay and it is worse on the floor. Rich Bocchini and Ethan HD provided commentary.
* The show opened with a 10-bell salute for local radio host and Defy announcer Kevin Diers, who died recently.
1. Guillermo Rosas vs. Kevin Blackwood vs. Eddie Pearl vs. Cody Chhun vs. Evan Rivers vs. Miles Deville for the Primo Lucha Title. We essentially have four babyfaces and just two heels. Deville is white and has his hair in tight cornrows. Outside of Deville, these guys are certainly familiar foes, usually in tag matches. Blackwood got a big pop; I'm so used to seeing him as a heel. One of these days, Rosas is going to become the biggest heel when he attacks his longtime teammate Chhun; is today that day? C4 tossed Pearl to the floor at the bell. Blackwood hit a snap suplex on Rivers. C4 hit a backbody drop on Pearl.
Miles hit a slingshot snapmare driver, then a running Air Raid Crash. Rivers hit a stunner for a nearfall. Three babyfaces hit stereo kicks on Rivers at 4:30, and they kept Evan on the mat. Blackwood hit some chops on Miles, then an Exploder Suplex and some dropkicks in the corner. Rosas hit a senton on Pearl, and he bodyslammed Rivers onto Pearl, then he hit a senton onto both at 7:30. Everyone hit a blow and suddenly everyone was down. Rosas hit a sideslam on Miles. Rivers hit a sideslam on Rosas at 9:00.
Chhun hit a Cody Cutter (fadeaway stunner.) Blackwood nailed a Brainbuster on Cody, but Chhun rolled to the ropes for safety. Blackwood hit a sit-out powerbomb on Miles. Pearl jabbed a finger in Miles' eye and was loudly booed! Miles hit a Bailey-style corner moonsault to the floor onto several guys at 10:30. Cody hit a flip dive onto them; Kevin Blackwood hit a top-rope doublestomp to the floor. In the ring, Kevin hit a top-rope doublestomp to the collarbone of a standing Pearl for the pin. Good, fast-paced action. Rosas loses his belt without factoring into the decision. Miles is new in this mix of top-tier stars but he didn't feel out of place at all. And no, Cody and Rosas never hit each other once.
Kevin Blackwood defeated Eddie Pearl, Cody Chhun, Guillermo Rosas, Evan Rivers, and Miles Deville to win the Primo Lucha Title at 11:06.
2. Marina Shafir vs. Kylie Rae for the Defy Women's Title. The bell rang... then the ref checked both women. That's just backwards. Kylie offered a handshake which was accepted, and Kylie acted like it was a big honor. Marina tried to grab her, but Rae rolled to the floor to regroup. These two are closer in height and weight than I expected; in my mind, Marina was much taller. Kylie rolled to the floor again, and to my surprise, she barked at the crowd after they booed her! Marina put her hands behind her own back to invite Kylie to attack her, but Kylie just applied a headlock.
Marina tied her up on the mat and did a Gator Roll at 4:00. She mounted Kylie and punched her, then mockingly did Kylie's hand gesture under her chin. Funny. Kylie hit a stiff kick to the spine at 5:30, but it just earned her a "you f -- ed up! chant. Marina immediately hit a back suplex and her own stiff kick to the spine! She whipped Kylie into corners, and Kylie sold the pain in her back. Marina hit a running kick in the corner, and they went to the floor at 7:30, with Marina kicking her as they circled the ring. She slammed Kylie onto the thin mat at ringside.
Kylie snapped Marina's neck across the top rope as she re-entered the ring and she took control. Marina applied a Master Lock/full nelson. Marina got a cross-armbreaker in the center of the ring at 9:30, but Kylie flipped Marina over for a nearfall. Marina hit a German Suplex. Marina tied her in a bow-and-arrow, then she tied a leg lock around Kylie's waist, and she switched to a half-crab.
Kylie hit some superkicks and a cannonball into the corner for a nearfall at 12:30. Kylie applied a crossface. Marina hit a backbreaker over her knee and hit a Judo Toss to the mat. Kylie tried a sleeper, but Marina slammed her to the mat, locked in the Mother's Milk (belly-to-belly chokehold), and Kylie tapped out! That was really good, and has to be one of Marina's longer singles matches.
Marina Shafir defeated Kylie Rae to retain the Defy Women's TItle at 14:24.
* Next up is a Rumble to honor Kevin Diers.
3. A Rumble match. Opening the match were Liiza Hall and Elliot Tyler. Tyler is a rotund, babyfaced kid. Bocchini said this is his Defy debut; I guess I've seen him in Prestige Wrestling only. Liiza is taller but he's much thicker, and he hit a back suplex. She hit some chops. The goofball and Lenny Lane doppelganger Matt Brannigan was No. 3 at 3:00, and of course, he was sipping on a mixed drink. Ethan HD guaranteed it wasn't Brannigan's first drink of the night. Tyler took the straw out of the drink and threw it and got booed. Ricky Gibson was No. 4; he took the mixed drink and dumped it at ringside! Hall and Brannigan superkicked him.
KC Ferreira was No. 5; I've seen hit at least once. No one has been eliminated. KC is a babyface and Tyler is a heel, but the youngsters worked together. Alan Angels was No. 6. Both Ethan and Bocchini said Angels wasn't on their format sheet. Angels began hitting low blows. He hit a flying one-legged kick on Liiza at 8:30. The bald Steve Migs was No. 7 and he got a huge pop; the commentators talked about Migs being friends with Diers. Rebel Kel, "the six-foot stunner," was No. 8 and she got a big pop.
Schaff was No. 9 at 12:30; again, he's on par in size as Jake Something. He hit a massive uranage on Alan Angels, and a huge sit-out powerbomb on Ferreira. The women fought in one corner. Mike Santiago was No. 10 at 14:00 and the commentators said they believe he's the last entrant. No one has been eliminated! Everyone began punching Gibson. Gibson eliminated Tyler. Migs eliminated Gibson. Brannigan was tossed. We have music, so here comes another entrant, as KC was eliminated. Randy Myers, the flamboyant DC Joker character, is No. 11 at 16:00, as Liiza was tossed.
Myers was too busy kissing men in the front row to get into the ring. It appears we have six in the ring. Migs slammed Santiago at 18:30. Migs eliminated Rebel Kel and was booed. Angels was eliminated, so we are down to our final four. Santiago was tossed at 20:30. So it is Schaff vs. Myers vs. Migs. Myers wanted a kiss, and so did this crowd! Schaff hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Migs. Schaff and Myers fought onto the apron at 23:00. Schaff hit a DVD to eliminate Myers. However, Migs hit a dropkick to knock Schaff off the apron to win!
Steve Migs won the 11-man Rumble at 24:04.
4. LaBron Kozone vs. Vaughn Vertigo. Again, Kozone is comparable to Trick Williams; he's much bigger and thicker. I always say the Canadian Vertigo is similar to GYV's James Drake or Alex Reynolds. Kozone knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. Bocchini talked about Kozone being a trainer in North Carolina and having worked with NXT wrestlers Je'Von Evans and Saquon Sugars. Vaughn hit a plancha, but Kozone caught him at 2;30 and slammed him onto the apron. Kozone hit a bodyslam for a nearfall.
In the ring, Vaughn hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 5:00, then a running knee into the corner. He leapt off the top rope and stomped on Kozone's arm, then he hit a half-nelson suplex for a nearfall. He tried a cross-armbreaker, but Kozone powered his way to his feet and hit a powerbomb at 7:00. Kozone hit a senton for a nearfall. Vaughn hit a Swanton Bomb. Kozone hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 10:00. Vaught got some rollups. Kozone kipped up and hit an enzuigiri, then a Ballgame clothesline for the pin. That was really good.
LaBron Kozone defeated Vaughn Vertigo at 11:28.
5. "Sinner & Saint" Judas Icarus and Travis Williams (w/Evan Rivers) vs. "Los Suavicitos" Danny Rose and Ricky Gee for the Defy Tag Team Titles. These teams are usually heels, but S&S got a babyface pop. Icarus and the shorter Rose opened. LS hit some quick team moves on Williams. S&S backed Rose into their corner and worked him over. Williams hit a series of punches to the gut. Gee got a hot tag at 7:00 and hit a dropkick, then a German Suplex on Icarus. Gee hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Rose got in and hit a superkick.
Williams hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Judas hit a release face-first suplex for a nearfall at 10:00. He hit a senton. Icarus hit a plancha to the floor on Gee. Rose hti a top-rope crossbody block to the floor on S&S. Gee hit a top-rope springboard somersault onto everyone at 12:30. Back in the ring, Rose hit a Swanton Bomb and LS got simultaneous nearfalls and we got a "this is awesome!" chant. Icarus hit a Rebound Lariat. Rose went for a suplex but Rivers grabbed an ankle, causing Rose to fall to the mat... but the ref saw it! S&S hit their running kick-and-Angels Wings combo for the pin. Good action.
"Sinner & Saint" Judas Icarus and Travis Williams defeated "Los Suavicitos" Ricky Gee and Danny Rose at 15:34.
6. Minoru Suzuki vs. Joey Janela. Joey has some red in his hair tonight. We had a "Murder Grandpa!" chant at the bell. Joey tied up the left arm. Suzuki glared at him, and Joey rolled to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Lawlor hit a headbutt. Joey hit a chop that Minoru no-sold, and they traded chops. Minoru removed Joey's T-shirt so he could chop the bare chest. Funny. Joey's chest was already bright red! Minoru did a cross-armbreaker in the ropes at 4:00 and let go at the four-count. They traded blows on the floor with more and more chops!
Joey hit a flying knee to the chest as Suzuki was seated at 6:00 and Joey was booed! Suzuki got a chair and jabbed it into the stomach, then struck Janela across the back with it. Joey leapt off the apron and hit a doublestomp onto a folded chair on Minoru's chest at 8:00, earning a "you sick f -- !" chant. Back in the ring, Joey did a Sabu-style leap off a chair into the corner and pointed at the sky. "Joey's been a lightning rod this week, and I"ll leave it at that," Bocchini said. Joey hit a brainbuster at 9:30. Joey went for a dive off the top, but Minoru moved, and Janela crashed back-first on an open chair.
Minoru applied a sleeper, and Joey started to fade, but he reached the ropes. They fought on the ring apron and traded forearm strikes, and Joey hit a Death Valley Driver on the apron at 12:00. They got in the ring, where Joey hit a second DVD for a nearfall, and he was shocked by the kickout. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Suzuki hit a pump kick; Joey hit a superkick. They both collapsed and were down at 15:00, and we got a "fight forever!" chant.
They got up and traded more forearm strikes. Suzuki set up for the Gotch-style Piledriver, but Joey fought free, and Joey hit a standing powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a nearfall. Joey hit his own Gotch-style Piledriver, but of course, Suzuki kicked out at the one-count, and the crowd again chanted, "You f -- ed up!" at Joey. More forearm strikes. Suzuki hit the Gotch-style Piledriver for the pin. Exactly as you'd imagine this would play out, but it was still quite fun.
Minoru Suzuki defeated Joey Janela at 19:05.
Final Thoughts: A good main event takes best, and I really liked the Marina-Kylie Rae match for second. The tag title match takes third. A good show with a hot crowd. I enjoy these shows. I do wish the lighting was a bit better -- it's not terrible at all, but it's not ideal either. I'll reiterate that I really hadn't seen much of Miles Deville, but he really looked good here. The Rumble was fine with an unexpected winner.