It’s time to look at the men from down under, as we take a look at Wrestlerock 15: End Of Year Bash 2, held at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne last December, and featuring new Wrestlerock Champion, the mad bastard Krackerjak and Australia’s weapon of mass destruction, Chris Knight, taking on Julian James’ new stable, The Establishment.

The show begins with a video re-cap, documenting the events of the previous show which saw the formation of The Establishment, as well as the title match at the Wrestleclash show, which saw the Krackerjak defeat Jag to become the new Wrestlerock champion. It’s then on to the introductions, with new host Mark Williamson, who introduces the crowd to Chris Fresh and his new commentary partner, Rohan Herbstreit.

Then it’s on to the first match, a midget match with Joey Russell Junior facing Mr. Big. It’s no secret that I’m not exactly a fan of midget matches, and this match is one of the reasons why. The action just wasn’t that good. Thankfully, the action was broken up when Julian James walked into the ring an brought out The Establishment, Jag, Slex and Lazer. Lazer and Slex proceeded to attack the midgets. James then goes on to slag off Krackerjak, before announcing, in his role as Wrestlerock owner, that Krackerjak’s title will be on the line in the main event handicap match. It’s a hell of a promo, setting up James’ credentials as a heel.

Normal action resumed with Cletus taking on Trikki D. Time to be completely honest here. This match disappointed me. As always, Cletus put in a great performance. But Trikki D, well, he just didn’t do it for me. While there were some aspects of his game that were good, there were also some aspects that weren’t that good, including some of the basics, and it kind of dragged the match down a little. Cletus got the win in this one, continuing his winning streak with what could be described as a variation of the Canadian destroyer. Disappointing to say the least.

The next match saw Matt Silva facing Pitbull Craig Cole, two guys making their Wrestlerock debuts. This was just what the doctor ordered after the previous match, a good match between two wrestlers looking to make a good impression in front of the Wrestlerock faithful. In one corner we had Cole, a tough, no nonsense, beer drinking Aussie battler against the enigmatic, bandana wearing Silva, a young high-flyer, and it was the battler who won out, taking Silva apart after he’d spit beer into Cole’s face. All this seemed to do was inspire Cole, who downed a quick one before taking Silva out with a series of power moves, finally putting him away with a sit down power bomb. Hopefully we’ll see the Pitbull in Wrestlerock again soon.

Mixed tag-team action, with Carnish and Carshinda, accompanied by WTC cohorts Sebastian Walker and Bulldog, taking on Carlo Cannon and Tennille Taylor. This match continued the storyline set up from the two previous shows (read my reviews to find out what happened), and was a well executed match. The two women gave a really good account of themselves, with the exchanges between Carnish and Cannon even better. The ending came when, having argued amongst themselves, the WTC members sent Carshinda to the back. It wasn’t long afterwards that Cannon took Carnish out with a super kick, and Taylor getting the pin for her team. Afterwards Walker verbally lambasted Carnish, and when he instructed Bulldog to attack him, the big guy gave him the finger and walked away. Enraged, Walker slapped Carnish, who responded by super kicking his now former manager, finishing him off with a camel clutch.  A good match with a very interesting angle at the end. But Carnish a face????

Back in the ring, Carlo Cannon called Tennille Taylor back out, and in a wrestling tradition that dates back years, he asked her to marry him. Naturally, she accepted.

Main event time, a handicap tag-team match with Wrestlerock Champion Krackerjak and Chris Knight facing The Establishment team of Jag, Slex and Lazer, accompanied by Julian James, with Krackerjak’s title on the line. This one started off with action both in and out of the ring. Enraged by Chris Fresh’s comments towards him, Julian James threw him out of the building, taking his place next to Rohan Herbstreit at the commentary table, with Mark Williamson joining them and constantly sucking up to the boss. Inside the ring the action was fast and furious, with Krackerjak and Knight making good work of Slex and Lazer, and looking like they’d get the DQ win when Jag clobbered Knight with a chair. It was then that James suddenly announced that the match now had a no DQ stipulation. The great action in the ring continued, with the Establishment beating the hell out of Knight before he got the hot tag to Krackerjak, and all hell broke loose once again. As Knight and Lazer brawled to the back, Jag power bombed Krackerjak through a table at ringside, rolling him back into the ring to get the three count, which the referee was reluctant to complete. To celebrate the win, Jag put Krackerjak through a second table. All I can say here is wow, what a great f’n match.

DVD extras come in the form of The Establishment’s appearance at the Wrestleclash show, recap and aftermath videos, as well as a set from the rock of Wrestlerock, Mammoth Mammoth.

In conclusion - Wrestlerock 15, sadly, isn’t the best show I’ve seen from the Aussie boys. Although there were three good, solid matches here, it was let down by a rather poor beginning. Also, while the introduction of Julian James as an in-ring character has benefited the promotion, the loss of Julian James as a full-time commentator may have harmed it a little. James and Chris Fresh had great chemistry, something that Fresh and Rohan Herbstreit didn’t seem to have. While Fresh continued with his outrageous style, Herbstreit did seem a little subdued, something that really doesn’t fit in with Wrestlerock’s adult style.

So overall, I suppose three out of five good matches isn’t that bad, but having seen entire Wrestlerock shows where five out of five matches were all good, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

With thanks to Rohan Herbstreit for supplying a copy of this release. Wrestlerock 15: End of Year Bash 2 can be purchased online by visiting www.wrestlerock.com.