Connecticut Championship Wrestling, 6/27/04
#1 Contendership 30 Minute Ironman Match: “Latin Fury” Luis Ortiz vs. “Hurricane” John Walters

Like is the case with A.M.I.L. vs. The D.R.S., these two have worked with each other tons of times in the Chaotic Wrestling organization. In fact, it was to a large degree through his matches with Ortiz and a few other Chaotic standouts that Walters’ gigs with ROH and eventually his WWE dark matches came to be. Ortiz, meanwhile, is one of the most intimidating guys you’ll find on the East Coast indy circuit. He’s shaved himself so that he looks like a cross between Tony DeVito and NWA-TNA’s Slash (of the New Church stable), and he’s able to do this thing with his eyes that’s quite creepy looking.

The two long-time rivals start with a sensational mat wrestling sequence, which lasts a few minutes. Walters initially gets the best of the exchange, which sparks Ortiz to walk out and head back towards the lockerroom, before changing his mind and returning. A Greco-Roman knucklelock tieup leads into a submission-oriented battle that lasts for most of the match. Ortiz utilized a Texas Cloverleaf before having Walters roll over and counter the Pendulum-style Rocking Horse submission that Ortiz loves to use into his own version of the hold. One of the guys did a Surfboard Stretch somewhere around this time, before they started brawling at ringside and really stiffing each other with nasty chops.

Back in the ring, Ortiz escaped a Gory Special attempt, but soon fell victim to a Widow’s Peak for the first fall, about 15 minutes in (give or take). With Walters up by one fall, he immediately went for another cover to further his advantage, but Ortiz was able to kick out. Ortiz regained the advantage and went for a running Death Valley Driver (his finishing move). Walters dropped out and tried another Gory Special, only to have that escaped and Ortiz apply a hold that resembled B-Boy’s Orange County Stretch. A few minutes later (around the 20 minute mark), Ortiz delivered a lariat followed by the Death Valley Driver to get the pin.

With the falls evened up at one apiece, some SICK chops were traded before Walters executed a Goku-Raku-Gatame-style Lung Blower (He applied a standing Camel Clutch in which he crossed Ortiz’ own arms around his neck, and then fell backwards in a motion where he drove his knees into Ortiz’ back.). After that, Walters ended up at ringside and Ortiz showed some considerable hang time for a big man by taking his opponent out with a Running Catapult Tumbleweed. Some ringside brawling led to Walters applying a Sharpshooter on the ringside concrete, but the ref made him break it a few seconds in.

Back in the ring, Ortiz gave Walters a bloody nose with a Flying Leg Drop, and soon thereafter, finisher mania got off and running, as Ortiz hit his Death Valley Driver for the 1…2…NO! Then, Walters came back with another Widow’s Peak, but that got the same result, as the near falls started piling up and the drama of the match began getting off the hook. Too bad a fair amount of the crowd had already left, by this point. With the seconds winding down, Walters applied the Sharpshooter, but Ortiz was able to hold out until the bell rang, even while many of the fans were repeatedly yelling, “TAP!”

It was announced that the match had ended in a one fall Draw, so neither guy had won the number one contendership to Striker’s Heavyweight Title. It’s too bad that the bout ended with the non-decision result that it did, but it was stellar otherwise. I really liked the way that they built up the credibility of their finishers. Each guy had to try their signature moves a few times before finally being able to connect with them, and as a result, the two falls that did occur came after really heated sequences. They also traded submissions on the mat for a fair amount of the bout, so the mat-oriented training that each got at the Chaotic Wrestling school was definitely displayed quite a bit.

RESULT: 1-1 Draw; Neither wrestler acquires the number one contendership to the CCW Heavyweight Title.

Credit: SoCalUncensored.com