Featured image by Chris Downey
They got a lot right here. There’s an innate understanding of those roles these two should play here. Colby Corino does well as the valiant, returning hero, and Lucky Ali seems rather dedicated to being the dastardly villain getting his comeuppance. Given the rumors that Ali’s heading up to New York soon, I give him a lot of credit for how thoroughly he commits to his undoing here. He gives everything to Corino in the finishing stretch here–being handcuffed to pay off getting Corino arrested, getting his hair cut, and then finally quitting to lose it all. It’s admirable stuff and speaks to how hard they’ve worked to build this rivalry.
Even before that, they have a lot of clever ideas here. Corino’s early babyface shine using the chain as a weapon is a lot of fun, Ali stealing things by going to the eyes and trying to work over Corino’s arm are good too. Plus, there’s just a ton of decent plunder spots sprinkled throughout this thing.
This suffers from similar problems to Ali’s title bout against Jay Malachi the month prior though. It’s bloated, so much so that a lot of that early heat can’t help but dissipate. I think both men really wanted to take the time to soak in the crowd reactions for this too, and while that’s well done on its own, it does create a kind of janky momentum that dips way more than it should. There’s also a weird tone shift towards the end as well with Corino bringing out Ali’s travel basket to not only attack him with but also throw out shirts with. It doesn’t last long, but it’s a comedic moment that feels a little out of place. I understand that it’s part and parcel with the complete deconstruction of Ali’s heel character, stripping him of all his dignity and what not, but it just doesn’t gel with the rest of the match.
Still more good than bad, but another example of the singles main event scene at DPW not quite living up to the promise found elsewhere on the card.
Rating: ***1/4
