Justin Mane vs. Ryan Burke from Midwest Wrestling’s Debut Show 2012

 This is a free match from Midwest Wrestling’s Debut Show.  Check out Midwest Wrestling on their website, their Facebook, and their Twitter.

Thoughts from Justin Mane:

That match was one of the few times I was able to really get out there and show, in a nutshell, what “Justin Mane” is all about. How I embody and expose my character to try to entertain as many people as possible. The July 20th Midwest-Wrestling show in Niles, Ohio will be another one of those types of matches. It will be something to watch, so don’t miss it.

Thoughts from Ryan Burke:

In the months leading up to the debut show for Mid West Wrestling, I had never heard of Justin Mane. Friends and family from the area were petitioning to get me a match on the show, it was overwhelming. Then Justin started making videos bad mouthing me and just going on and on about how important he is. Months later we are standing across the ring from each other in my hometown.

Justin had gone from someone I didn’t know, to a person I despised. Of course I wanted to pummel him as soon as the bell rang, but I knew in the back of my mind that I had to wrestle smart because a win would land me a spot on the roster. This was one of the biggest moments of my career, make or break.

I’ll be the first to admit that he is a hell of an athlete and performer, and I was very impressed by him. On top of that, I found out that he isn’t all talk, as I gave him everything I had and he kept fighting. However, by the end of the match, any respect I had toward him went out the window. I’m not one to complain or make excuses, but if you watch the match, or were there to see it live, you will know why I feel salty about how he got the win. To me, it’s not worth winning if you can’t win fair.

Justin and I will meet again. This time it won’t be about competition, but about revenge.

Thoughts from Chris GST:

Mid West’s debut show was fun. Critically it was liked though they are still growing and so are their talent. Mane & Burke had decent match but it felt like both men were holding back. They have a Niles Street Fight set for July 20th (details can be found here along with an exclusive video from Ophidian who is brining CHIKARA to Mid West http://bit.ly/KmFlws) and while this match let me know what they can do, I hope they bring out a little bit more for round 2.

Recap from TJ Hawke:

Mane was recently squashed on WWE TV by Ryback.  He cut a pretty good promo right before Ryback killed him.

Mane was on commentary earlier on the show, and he came across very cocky.  Mane grabbed the microphone from the ring announcer and ran down the crowd and the city of Niles. Burke then came out to a big pop, because they hated Mane and Burke was a hometown guy. Burke completely dominated the beginning of the match, much to the delight of the crowd. Burke then killed Mane with a suicide dive, which the crowd popped huge for. Back in the ring, Mane pretty much immediately cut him off and started to work him over. The crowd did not like Mane, and they were quite ready for Burke to come back. Mane went to the top rope and went for a moonsault, but Burke dived out of the ring. Burke came back with a diving cross-body and some big kicks. Burke went to the top rope and hit a double stomp on Mane’s back that drive Mane’s head into the mat. That looked sick and made for a great nearfall. Mane came back with a TKO: 1…2…NO! Mane used a lowblow behind the referee’s back and then hit Star Struck (a Pele kick): 1…2…3

This was probably my favorite match of the show so far. Mane wasn’t very subtle, but his heel antics were so enjoyable and worked perfectly for this crowd. He’s got a lot of personality, so he should be one to keep an eye on going forward. I hope he gets a strong push here. Burke and Bobby Beverly should do a big tag match together in Niles together as the crowd would really love them together.

Match Rating: ***