This main events the show over Blade/Dragon and Homicide/Mack so I’m watching more out of curiosity than anything else. I get why you wouldn’t want the Ivan run in ending the show but Blade/Dragon with the return of Ki seems like it might have been alright, so this must have something special beyond Sandman. Todisco is the spiritual father of Tony D’Angelo. Sandman is Sandman and is coming off the tag win with Homicide. Sandman is, to the shock of nobody, incredibly popular. Going into his pocket for a second beer when it seems like the entrance might be winding down is a great moment.

Da Hit Squad ambush Sandman as he cracks open his second beer and all three guys drop elbows. A Mafia avalanche, a Mack clotheslines and double headbutts from Da Hit Squad lead the ref to ring the bell and start the match. Billy Reil is out and gets beaten down by all three guys as well. Sandman throws punches at everyone and with Reil’s help the ring is cleared.

Bull and Da Hit Squad walk out and Sandman gets the microphone. He tells the referee to make them come back out. Then he calls Frank out and says he’ll never come back to JAPW if they don’t come back out. Sandman also threatens to beat him up so he calls them out. Homicide shows up and jumps Mafia from behind and the ring gets cleared out again. The match officially becomes a six-man tag and Homicide and Mack go at each other again. Mack hits a lariat and brings Mack in, so they can double press Homicide into the ceiling, which is a great use of the low ceiling.

Mafia misses a cannonball and Reil tags in and gets a couple shots in before running into a clothesline. Da Hit Squad bounce him off the ceiling as well before brining in Jerry. Jerry & Reil wearing matching white tank tops speaks to an interesting tag team possibility. Mafia catches a spin kick and turns it into a powerbomb in another cool moment.  Jerry gets a slam and a somersault senton off the second rope.

Reil jumps over a backdrop attempt and Homicide tags in and starts hitting everyone with kendo stick shots. Sandman misses a swing on Jerry and Homicide turns on him and attacks Sandman from behind. They set Sandman up and Jerry hits a superbomb to get the pin. Jerry tries to give Homicide a reward but Reil comes in to chase everyone away with a kendo stick.

Final Thoughts- Even the match here was an angle to give Homicide vs. Sandman the next night some more juice, so there’s not a lot to rate. Sandman’s entrance was the highlight for the crowd which also says something for what followed. The six-man never really had a chance to get started, although the press slams into the ceiling were a cool way for DHS to show off their power. As soon as Sandman tagged in and the crowd got excited, it was over, which makes sense for the angle but isn’t really that compelling to watch. I’m not sure this ending was any more satisfying than the ending to Homicide/Mack, but at least it sets up the title match for the next day and gets DHS and Homicide on the same page for whatever comes next. N/R- Just an angle. I’d imagine commentary summarizing what happened on the next show will suffice for most people.

This match can be found at https://independentwrestling.tv/promotion/japw

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