CHEWS VIEWS 001

Okay so my name is Drew Chew and I have been hired by OATH Pro Wrestling to write a weekly column where I share my thoughts on the weeks comings and goings. I’ll let you know right off the bat that I call things like I see them. It’s wrestling and sometimes people have to do dastardly shit to reach their goals. I may not agree with those things, but I get it. I’m gonna try to be as objective as I can but I am a man of multitudes, so sometimes my objectivity will wane. Whatever. It’s pro wrestling, continuity is a rarity. Let’s get into the shit, shall we? We are fresh off of Conviction Episode VIII and it seems like there has been a seismic shift in OATH as a whole. People love to say that in wrestling but let’s be real, following Brutalism last week this feels like a different company. Maybe it’s because there are now four championships in play, maybe it’s because there is a real tag team division now, maybe it’s because the Tabula Rasa Title brings a whole new level of uncertainty — but in my opinion it is because Declan Black is World Champion. Hate him or love him, Declan Black takes great pride in being World Champion. Finn Whelan did at first but that guy disappeared like a tiny fart in a stadium. Seriously, what was up with that? That dude just stopped giving a shit and Black stomped him out at Brutalism. Good riddance I say, if you don’t want to wrestle then don’t, plenty of other people will gladly yank your spot. With Whelan dethroned, Black took OATH by the nuts at Conviction. He opened the show and let everyone know that he is the champion and that OATH is his. Good shit. That’s what a champion should do! It’s time that OATH had a real leader, whether he’s a piece of garbage or not is irrelevant. The champion needs to be the face of the company and that’s what Black has shown himself to be. A big development was that we found out that Jake Archer will be Black’s first challenger. I imagine that match will take place on the final night of their Japanese Tour but we’ll talk more about that later. Black told Archer to come out and face him during the inaugural installment of The Declan Black Experience but anyone with an internet connection knew that Archer was not in the arena. But Erik Holland was. That scary big bastard beat the living shit out of Archer at Brutalism and wanted to come down to get some of Black at Conviction–I guess. Black told him to piss off and hit him with a champagne bottle. I bet that doesn’t come back to haunt Black. I’ll speak more on the champion later. The first match was a lot of fun. Ben Akuma faced James Edwards and they had a decent match, but I’ll be honest when I say that I expected more from Akuma. This kid could be awesome, he just needs to kick it up a notch. A loss to Edwards here hopefully served as a wake up call and we’ll see him shine when OATH heads to Japan next week. He trained there and maybe being back there will do something to him. I hope so. He’s got serious potential. Speaking of potential, James Edwards is awesome. If he keeps it up, I foresee this dude shooting up the rankings. He has all the tools, he just needs some more opportunities. Keep an eye on “The Burning Heart”, if he stays committed this guy is going to be a force. Nina Stokes announced that she would hereby be defending her Tabula Rasa Title in First Blood Matches. I’m a fan. OATH needs some more blood and guts, this move sits just fine with me. It took some time for Stokes to find her footing but I think she is right at home in the TB Division and I expect her to hold that title for a long ass time. Until some kind of monster is able to take it from her. I liked this next match. Alex Pierce and Ryan Young…that pairing feels like a rivalry that we’ll revisit a lot if both stay on the roster for an extended period of time. They are polar opposites and that’s why they couldn’t work together at Brutalism. They both looked great in this match but Young’s tricks weren’t enough to overcome the “Fire Fist Ace”. Pierce won this one and I see big things for him but if Young recommits himself, he’s gonna do some damage in OATH. Josie Wales announced to the world that she wants a piece of Locke Helms. I like her, she wants to fight everyone but not only that, she wants to fight the baddest. Helms is a low key psycho too so I imagine that when these two finally mix it up it’s gonna be magic. There was a very solid tag team match up next that showed everyone that this tag team division is adding depth every day. The Dynasty got the win and that was to be expected. Both Brie Marie and Tanay Wilson have chops but they are inexperienced as a team. The Slaytons are literally brothers. This was a good contest and I think if Marie and Wilson continue to team, getting more matches under their belt, they could be contenders. The Dynasty got a nasty message next from OATH’s resident terrorists, Enigma Protocol. TERROR and Miguel Villalobos clearly see some potential in the brothers or they wouldn’t have targeted them. Believe it or not, this is a good thing for The Dynasty. Protocol are a seasoned tag team and super dangerous, a match against them is going to do a lot for The Dynasty win or lose. I’m really looking forward to that one. I also like that Protocol is back together, those two are near unstoppable as a team and they are going to shake up the tag team division. Every team should be on the lookout. So I love Jain Kekoa. I know, I know — I said I would try to be objective but this dude is just so positive and fun, how could you not like him? He had a good showing here against Locke Helms but Helms is on another level right now. That Witching Hour finish should be feared by everyone on the roster because Helms is straight ruining everyone with that move. Helms refused to release that hold after he won and that brought out Intrepid Champion, Samantha Hamilton. It makes sense because Helms more-or-less challenged her for her title back at Brutalism. Hamilton did the right thing and came to Kekoa’s aid but that bit her in the ass because she found herself locked in that nasty hold. If he can lock that in when they square off for the Intrepid Title, Hamilton’s killer reign will be over. Alright. Settle in. Because this next match was absolute fire. I’m not kidding when I say that this might be the best match we’ve seen on an episode of Conviction. Josie Wales has been solid as hell since debuting. Undefeated actually. Then you have a beast like SILK who we haven’t seen in singles action in OATH yet. These two came together and had a fucking banger of a match that legitimately gave me heart palpitations. The near falls. The drama. The heart. It was all on display and I loved it. Give me another one a.s.a.p. But unfortunately, that’s probably not in the cards. SILK got the W but backstage he was attacked by Midnight Special and their bodyguard (or whatever) Combo XL. We didn’t know who attacked him at first but we found out at the conclusion of the next match. Which I was really fucking excited for. Cartier is probably the most underrated talent on the roster and Stephanie Matsuda could easily waltz into a World Title match and take the strap. This match could have been elite but unfortunately we only got a small taste of it. Why? Because Midnight Special +1 came to the ring and attacked Cartier. They dumped SILK’s broken body at the top of the ramp and then went to work on his partner. I was hoping that Cartier and SILK might go singles for a bit but there is no way that they are going to let this shit stand. Expect them to come to Japan with body bags. Speaking of Japan, the Japanese Tour was announced next. I already knew about it so all I’ll say is that I’m pumped. Japan is arguably the second biggest country in terms of pro wrestling and a case could be made that it’s actually number one. It makes sense that OATH is going there and it shows that this company is getting bigger and bigger every day. The main event was up next and I am really happy that the Tabula Rasa Title was in the main event. Some people are calling that strap a tertiary title and I think that is bullshit. Every title should be treated as equally important and the OATH office seems to agree with. I’m glad that different wrestlers are getting a shot at a main event spot. This match was excellent. Leah hasn’t had a chance to shine on her own since entering into her partnership with The Inevitable and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, hell, she’s one half of the Tag Team Champions but this match reminded us that she is a perfectly capable singles wrestler. Stokes came in with a chip on her shoulder as well as the TB Title. Stokes came in wanting to prove that her title win wasn’t a fluke and she did just that. This match was as brutal as I expected and Stokes cemented herself as a deserving champion. The ending where Stokes literally tried to carve Leah up was crazy and I’m happy that the referee stopped it. Leah was already bloodied, the match was over. Declan Black wanted to end the show and I can’t disagree with that idea but Stokes certainly did. The two jaw jacked back and forth leading to the second Champion vs. Champion match in OATH history set for next week. I’m for it. Stokes deserves a shot at a higher calibre opponent and there is none higher than the World Champion. If she can beat him she not only raises the profile of the TB Title, but also puts herself into World Title Contention. All in all I loved this show and I think it has set the stage for what we can expect from OATH going forward. The depth of the roster is there and if the competitors who slacked this week pick their game up things are going to get very interesting in Japan. Thanks for reading the first edition of Chews’ Views. I’ll be back next week with my review of Conviction Episode IX from Osaka, Japan. I’ll leave you with my Top Three of the week. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye. Top 3 1. Nina Stokes 2. Josie Wales/SILK 3. Locke Helms