OPENING MONTAGE/RUNDOWN
Well done as usual. The main event gets the lion's share of hype here and throughout the rest of the card, which is appropriate to the stature of the match.
THE SKYBREAKERS vs SONS OF THE SOIL
Pretty action-packed lucha-style trios match here. The finish made sense to get the SotS over as ferocious competitors. Where do they go from here? We shall see! On a side note, we got a surplus of "Kevin/fag" jokes in this match and can I just say I think this whole deal ran its course a long time ago and it's beyond tedious now. Can we drop it?
ARRIVE THE BOSS
The boss arrives. He's got tactics and strategies pouring out of his orifices and cryptic foreshadowing all over the place.
SAMUEL T. TURNER II vs ZEKE CASSIDY
Nice little showcase for the new heel Sam. Considering what a major turn he took this arc, I hope he'll have a more prominent role in the shows to come.
ARRIVE THE CHAMP
I liked the character moments between Griffith and FDJ, they really helped sell the friendship between these guys. Edward White is backing the champ? Interesting!
MUSHIGIHARA vs JED WHITEWOOD
How do you say "squash" in Japanese? So match number three has pretty much the same result as the others, and Whitewood gets absolutely zero shine other than a mildly amusing entrance. It all felt kind of pointless in the end.
YOU FAILED MISERABLY
The upshot is Mushi unmasking himself, speaking in Japanese, and beating up Whitewood so much it even worried Dante. I got a Paul Heyman/Brock Lesnar losing control vibe here. I hope Rob can partner up with someone in the next arc who can help him push Mushi to a new level, to take advantage of this character evolution.
HENRY KEYES vs DAVID NOBLE
Really fun match with lots of entertaining banter. I just called 1-800-DIE-ANGUS and pledged some money, hah! Also, it's awesome how the Bell Clap has become this fearsome KO move. Love it. Great action, and the respect spot at the end was well done too.
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
Potentially game-changing turn of events as Dan Ryan demands consideration, and gets to referee the main event. This was a darned good segment. STAY TUNED!
SOUTHERN HERITAGE CHAMPIONSHIP - STOCKTON PYRE vs FRANK HOLIDAY
I wrote this.
I DON'T THINK... I KNOW
Some effective continuity here as Dusty Griffith reacts to Dan Ryan being appointed the special guest referee, and asserts he's the man to lead DEFIANCE. A strong message from the champ, and a needed one. Good stuff.
BIG DAMN HEROES vs LEGITIMATE BUSINESSMEN'S CLUB
So this was a fantastic match, and a bit of a clusterfuck at that. What made it great for me were the fun touches like the way the BDH interacted with the fans, Rayne's Captain America spot, Dentari trying to steal an old lady's purse(!), and the whole backstage brawl sequence. Tremendous finish too! Loved it.
WE GON' LEARN TODAY
Eric Dane promo FTW.
JONNY BOOYA vs FRANK DYLAN JAMES
A big meaty big-man match that is pretty much what you'd expect. The commentary was a bit heavy-handed in telling us all that Jonny Booya's stupidity is just a put-on and he's actually smart and awesome. You do realize his dopeyness and own-worst-enemy qualities are what made him such a fun character and got him over huge recently, right? Don't take that away from us now!
STAYIN' ALIVE
...And there it is. Nicely done.
WORLD TRIOS TAG CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM VIAGRA vs TEAM HOSS
I really enjoyed this match, particularly for the way every character's personality was on display throughout. I'm starting to mark the heck out for Jack Harmen's random exclamations, so keep that coming! This was a well-done trios match that kept the action hot and didn't overstay its welcome.
SITTING IN THE DARK
I know there's been some pushback against unnecessary segments being included on cards lately. My personal criteria for this kind of thing are: 1) Does the seg relate to an ongoing angle or current event? And 2) Is it believable that this interaction would happen at the venue during this show? Now in general, number 2 is fairly straightforward; it's number 1 that seems to cause problems, because for the most part we -- by which I mean, people other than the writer(s) -- don't always know what the relevance of the seg is and where it's intended to go. With that being said, I'm working with Craig in the next arc so I know the relevance of this seg and I can vouch for it.
But even if I didn't know that, if you look back, he's already begun developing the relationship between Noble and MLM on previous shows, and it's clearly something that has some direction behind it. So number 1, check. As for number 2, it's not only believable but completely natural that Noble and Mayweather would have this conversation tonight, considering how both their matches went. Long story short, I liked it.
FIST OF DEFIANCE - CURTIS PENN vs EUGENE DEWEY
I got a kick out of all the fourth-wall-breaking comments throughout the match. The basic story was a good one: Dewey, having an extremely limited repertoire of submission holds, trying to defend in a submission match against Penn, a master of holds. I liked the spot where Eugene tried and failed to improvise a new hold on the fly. It sounds like Damien wrote this at the eleventh hour, so it is what it is, but I have to say the finish felt a little abrupt to me. Still, fairly enjoyable all in all.
WITH GREAT POWER...
Edward White and Dan Ryan conspiring! Jane! Get Ed a sinister moustache so he can twirl it!
A TALE OF TWO TITANS
Hey, did you know there's a title match tonight, and Eric Dane and Dusty Griffith are in it? Well, here's your 8th reminder.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP - ERIC DANE vs DUSTY GRIFFITH
To put things in perspective, by the time I got to the title of the main event, the scroll bar on the right of the browser window was at about the 3/4 mark. That means that if you added up the entire content of Executive Decision, at least 25% of it consisted of THIS MATCH. Add in the various hype segs and it probably pushes it to around 30%. In case you were wondering which was the most important fight on the card.
James sets out to outdo himself every PPV, and he produced a classic once again. You've got Griffith vs. Dane, this thing needs to be EPIC! And it was. The inclusion of Dan Ryan added an extra set of variables that were effective at muddying anybody's expectations of where this match would go. Dane using the fork to gouge Griffith in the head... OUCH? Excellent psychology at play when Dusty had to go outside of his own limits and get vicious in punishing Dane's knee. Super Stardriver WHAT! Atomic Powerbomb NO! And a satisfying, clean finish by tapout using a hold that was perfectly chosen for the purpose. I applaud you, James, for another awesome match. *standing ovation*
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
But wait... there's more! Edward White just HAS to get the last word in, that smarmy bastard. The way he jerks around Eric Dane's career, one day he's going to get his comeuppance...
FINAL THOUGHTS
That was a very long but very excellent show. Great work, everyone!