[2017-03-25-CWF Mid-Atlantic] Trevor Lee vs Chip Day

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Pro Wrestling fucking lives in North Carolina at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium!

This match got unbelievable hype by those who attended the show & I was honestly afraid it wouldn't live up to my insanely high expectations, but who I am to doubt Chip Day & TREVOR F'N LEE? This lived up to all the hype. All of it.

CWF Worldwide episodes drop at 9 PM, it's 4 AM my time & my plan was to watch this when I wake up - but I couldn't sleep & once I noticed that the episode had been uploaded, I just had to give it a watch right away. Was so hyped for this shit.

Let's talk about how Trevor Lee is quite possibly the best wrestler in the world. He wrestles a pretty different style on the other promotions he wrestles for (TNA, PWG, AAW..) - and he is very entertaining in that style, but in CWF he is the best big match wrestler on the whole goddamn planet right now.

These 2 had some really great interactions in Trevor's 6-Pack challenge for the title (****1/4) on the Worldwide episode from 03/22. They kicked the shit out of each other in that one, oh boy, that was just a little sample of what they were gonna do here.

The match starts off with some neat feeling out between the 2 - really good work on the mat, just fun back & forth. They very quickly established that Chip Day's kicks are absolutely deadly as he went for a kick which Trevor ducked. Trevor was absolutely brilliant w/ his character work when it came to those kicks of Chip - every time he successfully dodged a kick, he had to collect himself because he knew if Chip would land that shotgun blast of his, the title could be gone from his waist. He tries to keep things "civil" as he doesn't want to start trading strikes with Chip - eventually they catch each other's legs & as they both put them down, Chip lands a goddamn STIFF kick to Trevor. From then on the match becomes pretty much a full on slugfest with them trading those strikes - Trevor's selling was unbelievably good during this, quite possibly the best selling performance of the year as far as I am concerned.

The strikes in this were the best ones I've seen in the indies in a looooong time. And that includes guys like Hero, Low Ki, Callihan. Trevor & Chip just beat the shit out of each other in a level I haven't seen in indies in years.

My favorite moments of the match however were Trevor's epic comebacks - after he gets a big nearfall on Chip, he starts pounding his chest & says "I need you" to the crowd while his eyes closed. Goosebumps, man, goosebumps.

And then the goddamn finishing stretch with him getting his chest kicked in by Chip while he gets more & more fired up - then he gets up and delivers 3 badass PK's to Chip only for Chip to kick out at 1 - they go face-to-face & start slapping the shit out of each other - a battle that Trevor eventually wins & chokes Chip out with a guillotine & then kicks his head in with an epic buzzsaw kick. What a fucking finish to an all-time great match.

Then the post-match stuff with Trevor showing respect to Chip & the crowd giving both guys a standing ovation. Not gonna lie, got a little emotional there.

*****

[Cap]

Ugh... can't wait to get to this later today. I did my live review here and honestly thought it was absolutely epic. I watched the six pack challenge for the first time on tape yesterday in prep for this coming out on the youtubes. I am looking forward to seeing if it lives up to or exceeds my live review of it. Bought a Trevor Lee shirt right after this match and he was glowing. He knew they put on a good one.

[Cap]

Yeah, this is just lights out good wresting. The second half of this match especially is so good. Watching it on tape some of the grappling early doesn't look quite as good to me (not really a complaint, it just looked tighter live). On the other hand the facial expressions added to it, as did that massive mark on Chip's neck that really punctuates the shots he took. Lee's caveman hulk up came across more intense on camera too.

 

What really strikes me here is how early/mid-90s-All-Japan-esque Trevor Lee's big epics are in CWF. I thought we got that in the Everett match from last year and maybe even more here. We get striking contests (ones with urgency and ones with ego), bomb throwing spaced out with solid selling, lots of understanding the audiences expectations of match flow and working in little surprises against the grain, lots of stiffness and high impact offense that weaves in nuance. This hit all those notes so well, especially in the last half of the match.

 

To return to that point out understanding audience expectations, that is really my favorite part of this match. There are so many little places where it looks like we are going to see a full on Lee comeback and Day just cuts it off, and that really makes for a strong and compelling story. I really enjoy that when it is done well. Even good matches can seem predictable in the flow once you start watching and get a feel for them. I never felt like I had a handle on this one. That let them add lots of drama without going to the false finish well too often. It also made the 1 count that much more of a "holy fucking shit" moment because by that point it felt like all bets were off. Everything I thought I knew about the match or expected from it before was out the window and that is really rare. It wouldn't have been possible (or at least not as impactful) without the little counters and cut offs they used throughout. By the end of it Day has just thrown everything and has put so much into it. I heard someone on a podcast recently (podcast wasn't that recent, but me listening was - I want to say it was psychology is dead), that real classic matches often have that feeling that two guys just put too much into the match and they are really going to lose something more than a match if they don't win at this point. I kind of felt that way about at least Day and to a slightly lesser extent Lee here. I just loved those elements of the match. In the words of the world's #1 wrestler-turn-magician Chad Collyer, "That's Wrestling, BABY!"

 

I want to give it all the ninja stars in my belt, but I think its probably a high end 4.75 to me right now. I am a little hesitatant to give anything real recent 5 without watching it a few times and giving it time to breath in my head.

 

****3/4

[SmartMark15]

Talk about being just absolutely perfectly paced.

 

This is how you structure a wrestling match. You had that fun pretty good looking mat work to start off to show just how equal these two guys are against each other. Then you go into the wonderful shine with Chip Day just lighting up the champ and really putting him on the ropes. Lee's selling in this match was just so on point. He made everything Chip hit him with look absolutely amazing and the intensity with which he fought from underneath only served to make Day look even better as a credible champion. Then, just an absolute belter of a finishing stretch. A ridiculously compelling comeback followed by a brutal string of offense to put away the challenger. Perfect way to stoke the crowd into an absolute frenzy and end the match at exactly the right time.

 

5 stars? Maybe down the road. I'm still a little hesitant given the high watermarks of the year (Revival-#DIY-AoP/Okada-Shibata) but, man, was this great.

 

****3/4 (pending review)

[JKWebb]

I watched this last night, and really loved it. I share a lot of the same thoughts as SM15, so not much to add, but the intensity and pacing of this match hit on all cylinders. That final slap exchange was really something, and it hit at just the right time before the finish. Emotion was running high for Chip at the end of the match, and that only added to the awesome story of this bout. Loved it!

[puropotsy]

I watched this last night and rated it five stars, have posted a review and recap elsewhere. It really felt more like an old school Japan match than anything I’ve watched in a while, including matches from Japan. It had great pacing, great intensity and built to an amazingly strong finish.

[bradhindsight]

I'll link Dave's piece on this match: http://placetobenation.com/chip-day-vs-trevor-lee-a-modern-classic/

 

A CWF staple is a big main event with near-perfect booking and escalation. Nothing ever feels out of place or as filler. All the strikes here built on each other and felt even bigger as fatigue set in late. Trevor Lee's title reign is an all-timer at this point. The strongest of recommendations ****3/4