WrestlePro Delivers At Brewery Brawl
The Prodigal Son returned to Neshaminy Creek Brewing at Hops & Headlocks 2.
Walking into Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company on Saturday, March Madness was in the air and on the projector screen. As patrons griped about busted brackets, bartenders hustled from glass to glass. Children shoved quarters into the arcade games. Young couples played pool, air hockey and foosball.
Beyond the tables and benches was a giant welcome sign for wrestling fans: “Hops & Headlocks II…Enter”.
Strolling past machinery and equipment, the noise died down and the scent of Home Depot lingered. Then there was a table full of blue bracelets. A bit further was a bar set up with plenty of taps and NCBC T-shirts. And then, just a few feet away, was the most beautiful sight. Like a mirage, a wrestling ring surrounded by kegs and wooden crates sat inside the warehouse. Spectators were already boozing a half hour before the bell rang, sporting Pro Wrestling Tees and clutching homemade signs. Fueled by milk stouts and IPAs, the crowd remained raucous from the opening bell to the main event, raising the spirits of every performer who walked out the curtain.
LSG from Ring of Honor soared in a fast-paced, action-packed, 6-way scramble to kick off the show. VSK followed up by jaw jacking with the “Croydon cretins,” drawing their ire by powerbombing Buster Jackson and then pinning him with his feet on the ropes. A match between Jos A and Prince Josiah was cut short after Jos B interfered; however, KM from Impact Wrestling saved Josiah from the two-on-one assault. As a result, an impromptu tag team match happened as KM vowed to help Josiah “the virgin” (at least that’s what KM claimed) score a big win over the Tag Team Champions. The crowd quickly caught on, chanting “Let’s Go Virgin!” as Josiah overcame the odds and made the hot tag to KM. Ultimately, the cheers paid off as KM prevented the Heart Attack, yanking Jos A out of the ring and allowing Josiah to wiggle down Jos B for a sunset flip.
Nikos Rikos and CPA fought for not only the Silver Championship, but also the title of biggest Taylor Swift fan. Both men wore different shirts from her concerts, claiming to be a true Swiftie. Rikos’ second favorite lady, Vicious Viki, got involved throughout the match, distracting CPA as soon as the bell rang so Rikos could pounce. The action spilled outside the ring as CPA was knocked off the apron, crashing onto a razor-thin mat on the warehouse floor. They fought on almost every side of the ring, sobering up fans in the front row as they exchanged blistering chops. Back inside the ring, CPA trapped Rikos in a variation of the Rings of Saturn, then told the referee to give him a microphone. Instead of asking whether the champion submitted, CPA sang “Shake It Off” as Rikos screamed in agony. Sensing her man was ready to quit, Vicki pulled him out of the ring to break the hold. While CPA confronted her on the apron, she tried to slap him, but he blocked it. However, Rikos snuck up from behind and hit a back stabber to retain the title.
By this point in the night, Matt Macintosh suggested we all play a drinking game. Every time he and Anthony Bowens chopped a member of Job Security, we take a drink. Hopefully nobody kept track of the count or else we’d all be stumbling into the parking lot like Foster Brooks. Toward the end of the match, Bowens dumped a beer into Officer Malcolm Moss’ mouth. Officer Ronald Moses then knocked down Bowens before Macintosh leapt off the top rope with a double stomp onto Moss, who spewed the beer into Moses’ face. (It’s one of the coolest spots I’ve ever seen.) Macintosh’s handspring ace crusher led to the victory.
After a brief intermission, the Shook Crew urged everybody to hand over their car keys to avoid drinking and driving. Somehow, they were the villains in this situation, as the zany combo of Freddy Flamingo, Aaron Rourke and Corrine Mink fought for the freedom of the fans. Mink brought out a cheesecake and mushed a slice into one lucky fan’s mouth. The intergender match was fun and full of shenanigans, such as Mink and Flamingo surfing on Bryce Donovan, Rourke doing the limbo under Bobby Orlando and Flamingo and Rourke double chokeslamming Orlando onto the pile of keys.
And then it all came down to the main event, the culmination of a five-month saga between NCBC and Pittsburgh-based Full Pint Brewing. At OktoberSLAMfest, “Hot Sauce” Colin Shawcross turned his back on friend and colleague Tommy Provolone, taking the Craft Beer Heavyweight Championship to The City of Champions. The aftermath of Shawcross’ betrayal had been documented through a series of videos shared on social media, hyping up the grudge match at Hops & Headlocks 2. While Full Pint and Shawcross would be represented by the monstrous Vargas, NCBC and Provolone would be represented by WrestlePro’s Pat Buck.
Overpowered by the mammoth, Buck endured immense punishment, even being driven crotch-first into the steel post. That wasn’t enough to keep him down, though. With no rules in this brewery brawl, Buck emptied a bag of thumb tacks in the ring, and attempted to piledrive Vargas into them. The colossus wouldn’t budge, backdropping Buck and then chokeslamming him into the dozens of tacks. “ECDub” chants echoed throughout the warehouse as Buck winced and groaned on the outside. With his defender out of commission, Provolone was left all alone.
As Vargas, his manager and Full Pint’s leader Greg cornered Provolone, Greg summoned Shawcross into the ring and handed him his trusty 2×4 to strike his ex-best friend. Whether it was divine intervention or the foggy beer goggles had cleared, Shawcross had a change of heart, swinging the 2×4 at Greg instead. The crowd roared as “Hot Sauce” returned to his roots. Buck quickly entered the ring, shooting a fireball at Vargas and dropping his manager with a Stone Cold Stunner. Ascending to the top rope, Buck finished Vargas off with a frog splash to bring the Craft Beer Heavyweight Championship back to Croydon.
It was a night of jubilee for the fans and NCBC, another successful show in what has become most WrestlePro members’ favorite event of the year. Tapping into the pro wrestling market has proven a wise business strategy for the brewery, which will also hold its first WrestleMania Watch Party on April 7.
Get your tickets and favorite wrestling shirt ready because if Hops & Headlocks 2 is any indication, NCBC is the place to be for clotheslines and craft beer.
Full results
LSG def. TJ Crawford, Bobby Wayward, Mario Bokara, Justin Corino, Adam Bizare
VSK def. Buster Jackson
KM & Josiah Prince def. Team Espana
Nikos Rikos def. CPA
Matt Macintosh & Anthony Bowens def. Job Security
Freddy Flamingo, Rourke & Corrine Mink def. Shook Crew
Pat Buck def. Vargas
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