Pro Wrestling WAR "War is Declared"
November 12, 2004
The Elks Lodge in Santa Anna, California

Charles Mercury vs. Quicksilver vs. Ronin

Everyone hits their fair share of offense in the early going, with no one in particular landing anything concrete enough to give them the lead in the match. Mercury is eventually double-teamed as Quicksilver and Ronin try to prove which one of them can stiff-slap him the hardest. Ronin holds up Mercury for a ball-shot, but Mercury jumps and Quicksilver ends up hitting Ronin below the belt. Quicksilver and Ronin come to blows over this, but Mercury breaks the pin attempt when Quicksilver nails Ronin with the Silverado. After some near-falls, Charles Mercury sneaks in a Small Package Hold to get the win.

Analysis: Some good action, but a little too much chain wrestling for my taste. Normally I'm a big fan of this stuff, but it just felt too drawn-out. That's not really the strong-point of these three: they're good at high-flying and stiffness. When they finally went through their chain-wrestling motions and stuck to their guns, this match quickly grew on me. Everyone brought their own special something to the match, making this opening contest one well worth watching. ***¼

"The Lost Boy" Billy Blade vs. Vennis DeMarco

There's some chain wrestling, some stiff chops, and DeMarco hits a nice Inverted Reverse Russian Legsweep that gets 2½. After a few nearfalls, Billy Blade wins after a low blow and a pseudo-neckbreaker.

Analysis: Although the match was slightly bland, it had a few things going for it. In regards to the face/heel dynamic…neither really played their roles all that well, but at times both did show some flare. This was an average match, and I'm a bit undecided on whether to suggest skipping or watching it. I'll leave the decision up to you…it's not a waste of your time, but it's not a great match. **½

Supa Badd (With Dino Winwood) vs. The Human Tornado

Before the match starts, a heel Dino Winwood cuts a hilarious promo mocking the show, the fans, and even the fact that there are free Tech N9ne CD's being given away at the already-free WAR show. After some crowd brawling, Tornado does the Balls of Steel => Pimp Slap spot. There's some more comedy, a bit of stiffness, then Tornado crashes into Badd with a Somersault Senton off the top rope and into the crowd. Both men then brawl all over the crowd, the highlight being when Supa Badd grabs a stack of loose-leaf paper, screams "This is for no reviews! No reviews!" and hits Tornado with it. There's an especially hilarious spot where Badd makes Dino Winwood lay down, then slams and later chokeslams Tornado into Dino's gut. They even brawl into the men's restroom, and soon brawl out of the arena.

Excalibur and Disco Machine vs. Lil' Cholo and Silver Tyger

There's lots of LUCHA QUICKNESS~ by all involved before Disco Machine and Excalibur double-team Tyger. Cholo comes in off a hot tag and dishes out some pain to both of his opponents, leading into a cluster-**** where Tyger nearly wins the match only to get taken out with a Chokebreaker double-team by Excalibur and Disco Machine, which allows Excalibur and Disco to get the victory.

Analysis: This entire match screamed "cluster-****" from the get-go, but it wasn't bad. Disco and Excalibur have teamed up so many times and for so long that they're basically psychic with one another, allowing them to really flow as a team. Tyger is an athletic guy that knows his character well, and Cholo was good in his role as an unexpected powerhouse. This match had its ways of entertaining, no doubt. I wasn't expecting much, but then again, I wasn't too surprised that I got a quality matchup. ***

Supa Badd (With Dino Winwood) vs. The Human Tornado

Guess who ends up brawling back to the ring! In one of the best moments of the night, Dino begins to mouth off at Tornado, only to get Pimp Slapped! Badd quickly nails Tornado with a stack of CD's and a trash can, and then a fan's drink. Tornado fights back into the lead, and completely obliterates Dino Winwood with a spinning enzugiri. Tornado and Badd soon brawl out of camera shot once again.

"Color Bars" Disc 1 Bonus Match: "The Suicidal, Homicidal, Genocidal" Sabu vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels

As Disc 1 concludes with Part 2 of Badd/Tornado, there's the often-used (at least in regards to WAR discs) "Color Bars" trick. After fast-forwarding through some Color Bars, you're treated to a hidden bonus match/skit/segment/etc. This edition of "Colors Bars" features a match from the "Pain and Suffering" EPIC Pro Wrestling show. Sabu comes out with his manager, Lazie, and Lazie talks about the "bounty" placed on both their heads, and then challenges anyone to come out and try to claim it. Lo and behold, the wrestler to answer that challenge is Christopher Daniels.

Both men do a lot more wrestling than I thought they would in the early minutes of the match. Sabu is able to hit an Avalanche Hurricanrana, but he's tripped up and planted face-first into a chair after attempting the Triple Jump Moonsault. Daniels then flies high with a rope-assisted somersault senton to the outside, crashing into Sabu and sending both men sprawling. The blow-away spot of the match comes when Sabu vaults from a chair to the third rope and obliterates Daniels with a legdrop through a table that was propped up between the apron and the guardrail. But, this is not without repercussions: as the table is breaking, a part of it splinters off and smacks right into Sabu's jaw as he's falling. After a Triple Jump Moonsault gets 2¾, Daniels is able to score the Best Moonsault Ever with a chair placed underneath Sabu, but it's Sabu that comes out the winner following an Arabian Facebuster. Post-match, there's some mutual respect, as Sabu shakes Daniels' hand.

Analysis: As far as a possible "dream match" goes, this one delivered. There was plenty of action and energy, with a very nice blend of character that I really liked. Nothing too innovative in the "moves" department, but I liked how both men went along with each other and developed a sort of chemistry between their unique characters and their shared similarities. Could've been a bit better by my standards- nothing particularly outstanding aside from one big spot, less false finishes than I would've hoped, things like that- but I enjoyed this one a lot, and think it's a pretty good bonus, effectively ending Disc 1 on a high note. ***

Austin Aeries vs. "The Professional" Scott Lost

Lost feints out of some of Aries's moves after both spend some time mat-wrestling. Aeries gets some big pops by stiff-chopping Lost in a corner while ignoring, and even badmouthing, the referee. Lost dishes out some stiff shots of his own, gets caught with Aeries's running back-elbow spot, and manages to hit a nice gutbuster before missing a splash as well as the Superman Spear. Aeries nails a Cobra Clutch S.T.O., and then stretches out Lost. Lost is able to make a comeback, even hitting the Superman Spear, and both men get some very-close pin attempts on each other. Scott Lost kicks out of a Spinning Fisherman Brainbuster at the last possible second…but the referee awards the match to Aeries anyway. This starts a huge "TWO!" chant, while Aeries gets up disgusted and refuses to let the referee hold his hand up. The fans then chant to get a new referee…and apparently, Austin Aeries agrees with them, because he gets on the house microphone and shoots on the referee quite viciously. To top it all off, when Scott gets up, the fans chant "You Screwed Scott".

Analysis: It's a damn shame that one huge error in judgment leaves a sore taste in my mouth after one hell of a match. This really was the last straw…this referee was a complete disaster to the show from the get-go, and screwing this match out of a great finish really was the last thing she needed to do to get the crowd to universally turn against her. The ending truly hurt what was a worthwhile contest. Aeries is a great heel, making the turn mid-way through the match, and Lost plays a great face when he's driven to do so. I find Scott Lost the type of wrestler that's great in tag-teams but also clearly under-rated as a singles wrestler, and I've always liked Austin Aeries. With a better finish, this would've been a show-stealer, but it more than lives up to just about all of its potential. ***¼

Tony Kozina vs. Scorpio Sky

Both are very even-matched and do plenty of counter-to-counter spots. Scorpio Sky constantly works the arm, but his ligament-specific damage comes back to haunt him when Kozina nails a vicious Dragon Screw, followed by repeated attacks to Scorpio's legs. Scorpio is in a bad way but manages to pull out the Final Answer…with the crux being that he had to hit it on his bad leg or else he wouldn't have been able to hit it at all. Scorpio is able to nail an Ace Crusher and rolls it into a Dragon Sleeper, but can't get Tony to submit. Scorpio nearly gets the win with a huge Frog Splash, but the referee gets distracted by Jason Sanders III. Bo Cooper hits the ring, nails a Death Valley Bomb to Scorpio, but Scorpio kicks out when Tony tries to capitalize on that. Scorpio Sky won't die, and kicks out of a lot of subsequent pin attempts. Gary Yap comes out, and Bo finally loses his control and he, Sanders, and Kozina all gang up on Scorpio, giving Scorpio the DQ victory.

Analysis: A good match that set up a lot of things, but was good by itself. I'm still a bit undecided about Kozina. He did show some impressive work here, but his history and his opponent holds me back from being a fan of his. Honestly, his non-committal roles in past matches of his I've seen, coupled with the plain fact that I don't think there's a Scorpio Sky match out there I don't like, makes me wonder if this wasn't simply a carry-job by Sky. Yet, in earnest, this was a good match either way. No matter how you look at it, there's plenty of entertainment to be had here. ***

Supa Badd (With Dino Winwood) vs. The Human Tornado

Badd and Dino come back ringside! They act as if they're going to sit and watch the next match, but Tornado sneaks up behind them…with ****ing nunchucks! Tornado breaks the weapon in half after repeated use, and both brawl into the stands once again. They go back inside the ring, where Tornado nails Badd with a Springboard Dropkick to Badd's back. Supa Badd responds with a great Avalanche Swinging Chokebreaker, but Human Tornado busts out…a wheelchair! Tornado jams Badd and Dino into the wheelchair, but is unable to move it due to Dino. So, instead, he rolls Dino away, sets up Badd, and runs the wheelchair right into Dino, with Dino hilariously blurting out "Oh God!" seconds before contact. By now, the fans are chanting "Match of the Year", while I personally am nearly busting a gut laughing out loud to all this insanity. Dino is down and out, and Badd and Tornado once again brawl until they're out of camera shot.

Super Dragon vs. Jack Evans

The fans are chanting "Dragon's Gonna Kill You", and Jack Evans effectively signs his death certificate by saying, "The only Dragon I know is American, who the hell are you?" to Super Dragon. Evans shows off and mocks Super Dragon throughout their early-match chain-wrestling sessions. Just about none of Evans's offense or taunts seems to faze Super Dragon, who simply tries to split Evans in half with a Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker. Jack is chopped so fiercely from a standing position that he's sent down to the canvas, and then Dragon nails two Standing Double Stomps. Jack mounts a comeback, even hitting a Springboard Corkscrew Moonsault to the outside and hitting some of his more-famous aerial moves, but Jack is hit with a Curbstomp so fierce that his facial expression basically resembles that of a murder victim. The crowd is basically rabid now, and Super Dragon answers their chants of "One More Time" by Curbstomping Jack again. At this point, Evans begins to dry-heave. He pulls it together long enough to hit the Shining Ninja, and then both go into an increasingly heated exchange of nearfalls, with Jack even kicking out of an Avalanche Spinning Black Tiger Bomb. The finish comes when Jack hits an awe-inspiring Corkscrew 630° Splash, possibly the best one he has ever hit, to get the win.

Analysis: If one match could ever define a promotion, Jack Evans vs. Super Dragon defines WAR. At the start, fans were rabid to see the cocky Evans get his ass kicked. And make no mistake about it; Super Dragon played those emotions like a fiddle, to the point where the Elks Lodge fans basically resembled fans of the Roman Coliseum in their fervor to see one man become completely decimated. Evans brought out a side of him that is critically under-rated and rarely seen. Although he gets by on his great aerial moves and his "street thug" attitude, Jack Evans has the often-imitated, never-duplicated ability to portray himself as someone who doesn't have the ability to give up, not because of some warped sense of bravado, but because something deep down inside fuels him to prove everyone wrong. In regards to Super Dragon, there's very little I've said about him that I haven't said already, but I will say this: when it all comes down to it, when you consider all his highs and even all his low's, when you judge his career as a whole, whenever he does decide to hang up the pajamas…when all is said and done, I believe that Super Dragon will be regarded as the greatest wrestler that has ever come out of Southern California. It's not just that this was a great match. It's not just that Jack Evans became a SoCal sensation in just one night, proving himself to what can be a completely cut-throat audience. It's not just that Super Dragon gave us another reason to worship the ground he walks on. It's about the plain fact that this one match started a feud that would last throughout the lifespan of WAR, and was one of the best matches either man had in 2004. ***¾

After the match, we're treated to a short clip of Scott Lost confronting the referee. Lost expresses his all-too-real frustration at the ref's call, but the referee comes off as callous and a complete *****. The good thing is that after this short altercation, we get…

Supa Badd vs. The Human Tornado

The grand finale! Badd runs outside of the arena, with Tornado in hot pursuit. They brawl all over the parking lot, chase each other around the parking lot, and the finish to this show-spanning brawl comes when they chase each other down the street, disappearing from view one last time.

Analysis: This was one of the greatest comedy matches I've ever seen. Hilarious really doesn't begin to describe it…the combination of Evil Heel Dino Winwood, Supa Badd, and The Human Tornado is just too much. This is the only comedy match I've seen that has literally made me laugh out loud. I truly had to pause the DVD multiple times because I was too busy laughing my ass off and I couldn't keep focused on what they were doing. There really isn't a way to describe how they pulled this off…you've simply got to see it for yourself. When you do, you'll see that everything I've said is true…this really is one of the funniest comedy matches you'll likely ever see. I've never given this high a rating to this type of match before, but Supa Badd vs. Human Tornado defies my rating system and earns itself "excellent match" status. ***½

"Color Bars" Disc 2 Bonus Skit: Adam Pearce Shoot Promo

Rounding out Disc 2 is an Adam Pearce promo from "For the Messiah", an EPIC Pro Wrestling show. For a shoot promo, Pearce rants pretty artistically. He speaks about his passion for the business, why he decided to go into "retirement" (nobody ever really retires in wrestling, so I use that term loosely), and how the business has come to have fat men in jeans and Adidas tennis-shoes wrestling in what was once regarded as hallow ground. Frankie Kazarian comes out, shoots on Pearce, and from there things basically devolve into a big brawl.

Disc 3: Bonus Disc

No Super Duper Ever Lovin'…but still a 3rd disc filled with nothing but extra content. Some of the Extra content is small, like a short clip of Bo Cooper hitting the camera. Others I've seen before, like a "Previews" section that has hype-ups of other WAR and even some EPIC shows. There's even a small bit of Credits, and a review from SoCal Uncensored covering this show. While I haven't covered everything that's included in the bonus disc, I did get the major ones down.

Super Dragon vs. Jack Evans: With Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Commentary by Jack Evans, Gary Yap, and Anthony Maris

Lots of joking here, with Evans almost constantly putting himself over. All three delve a lot into some backstage stories, with lots of focus on Jack's career. Jack isn't afraid to mention ROH and TNA, and even jokes that Gabe will edit this sooner or later, so don't be afraid when it happens. There's lots of talk about Super Dragon in here, too. In regards to their personal life, Jack, Gary, and Anthony even mention a personal story about Jack Evans organizing a group to try and catch (and beat up) a guy that beat up a cat. Jack also mentions that he would love to get shot, in order to become a rapper. He advises anyone that wants to make a deal to shoot him, somewhere manageable (nothing serious, maybe in the leg, but not badly enough to make him retire from wrestling), and they'll split the profits from what will surely be a highly successful rapping career. They manage to mostly stay on-topic and dissect the match, and there's this hilarious piece where, after seeing Evans's look of complete torture after going through two Curbstomps, Gary Yap asks, "At this point, were you hating life, Jack?" Jack simply answers, "Yes".

The highlight of the insider commentary is when all three begin talking about Jack's geekish fandom of Blitzkrieg, and Yap manages how Blitz and Jack had a heart-to-heart where Blitz told Jack that he didn't have to risk his life every match to be a star. Jack responds, "And just to prove that I listened to him, I went off a couple weeks later and did Cage of Death 6." To conclude the commentary, Jack mentions an interesting tidbit: the reason P.W.G. ran a show called "Free Admission (Just Kidding)" was because Excalibur and Super Dragon wanted to take a jab at this show, because "WAR Is Declared" had free admission. All told, this was another great commentary track, and it makes me think that "insider commentary" for select matches can be just as entertaining, engrossing, and involving as Director's Commentary on feature films. It adds a whole new dimension to whatever is being commentated on, and in this match's case, it was well worth watching it again to hear Yap, Maris, and Jack.

Jack Evans Comments on the Tech N9ne Song "Slacker"

This Extra is basically Jack and friends sitting in a car, listening to Tech N9ne. "Slacker" is on, and Jack comments about how much he likes the song. He mentions that he is a fan of the "bling bling" side of rap, but thinks that it's not what normal people go through…their lives are much more like the song "Slacker", which is basically about slacking off, which includes lines about sleeping for long periods of time and playing video games all day. Jack mentions that he's an avid Halo 2 and Dead or Alive: Ultimate fan, and he even gives out his Xbox Live Gamertag. He ends it by saying that Halo 2 is better than any club.

A Blast From The Past: The 1st Episode of EPIC T.V.

There's lots of content here…lots of hype, an angry Messiah promo, and even a snippet of an A.P.W. show. The commentary varies from decently entertaining to shaking-your-head bad, with the good points being a Disco Machine/Super Dragon skit and a hilarious part where Excalibur joins the EPIC announcers. At the end, there's even a section with bloopers. The highlight and most notable part of this is that, in the "Bloopers" section, there's something that is about as rare and unheard of as Chuck Norris crying…Super Dragon laughing.

Final Thoughts: This was quite a trip. I like WAR more and more now, to be honest. I enjoyed this one just as much as the first WAR show I reviewed, even if for some slightly different reasons. For one, this show had better matches. While there was one average match, everything else was great. Though I might have liked if the "Color Bars" match on Disc 1 was different, Sabu vs. Christopher Daniels is good enough for another run-through. This show had great action from the bottom to the top of the card, with the clear-cut winner of Match of the Night being the incredible Super Dragon vs. Jack Evans main event. When graded strictly by itself, "WAR Is Declared" was a fantastic first show.

It's the transition to DVD that really makes this a sure-fire buy. Not only is the cover art humorous yet very well done, the Extra content is back with full force. The only thing that really kept this DVD from surpassing the "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary" review is that it lacks some of the polish seen on that D.V.D. For one, there's no commentary in the matches. That's probably because of the venue itself, or some other small detail, and if you're a fan of no-commentary-matches this won't bother you…but personally, sometimes it got boring to just see match after match after match with no commentary. Also, the Previews are confined to a section in the Extras disc, instead of being interspaced throughout the matches on the main discs. "Color Bars" is always fun, but we only got two of them as opposed to the three in "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary". Add to this the fact that one had been done before and one wasn't a match, and you're left feeling that S.F.J.A. outclasses "WAR Is Declared" in terms of the upgrade from show to DVD.

Yet compared to other indy shows, this three-disc set still does a hell of a lot more for you than what you're usually accustomed to. WAR has its own unique flare, and WAR DVD's are a notch above what you're most used to watching. It's not just a direct transfer from a show to a DVD…someone out there loves making these things, and tries to make WAR come off more as an "experience" than a "show". While there's nothing like seeing wrestling live, the amount of time and care given to making the DVD come alive more than makes up for the fact that you're watching something pre-taped.

In conclusion, Pro Wrestling WAR continues to impress, as it strives to create a balance between a straight-up wrestling show and something more closely resembling that of a motion picture DVD. WAR DVD's blur the line between sports and film, with excellent results. More and more, I'm thinking that all wrestling DVD's need an extra disc filled with content, all wrestling DVD's need insider commentary by fed-heads and wrestlers. It's time that wrestling companies realize the full power of the DVD, and capitalize on something the film industry has known for years: if you cram enough related stuff and extra content onto a DVD, you'll come out with something that's even better than the original film. If WAR can do it, other promotions can. Until then, WAR DVD's will remain in a class all their own.

Overall Rating for Pro Wrestling WAR "WAR Is Declared!": ***½