Vietnam Pro Wrestling Academy Secret Show 2: The Rumble Spot

Vietnam Pro Wrestling presented its second ever Academy Secret Show from the VPW Academy last night (August 1st).

Like the predecessor, the show was run in front of around 20 of the promotion's most passionate fans, eager to see the bright young hopefuls of the academy as well as some of VPW's long running roster in ways you've never quite seen them before.

Quite frankly, as an attendee, the show might have been the best VPW show of the year so far. Rather than take it easy due to the small fanbase and intimate venue, the VPW wrestlers went all out in each match to produce a series of matches that would have been suitable for the big six events.

Hydraco Vs KPY

In the opening match we saw a unique outing with "Heel" Draco taking on KPY. If you are unsure on the pun, this was Hydraco giving the dark side a spin. The match was as action packed as you would expect from these two and KPY won with his Heatspitta, a Styleclash-like finisher. The true highlights were watching KPY put on a stellar classic small hall* babyface effort and, likewise, Draco's cocky heel character felt exciting and strangely like what could be a quality evolution as he delayed his offence and wore a grin that begged to be wiped off.

Winner: KPY

Darren Tran Vs Flying Felix

The next match was between Darren Tran and Flying Felix. The latter has performed outside the Academy on at least one occasion but both are essentially rookie trainees about to break through. Felix is your classic cruiserweight babyface with boyish good looks and a look of enthusiasm for life, while Darren Tran, in the words of VPW head of creative and MC for the night Jody, is a horrible little toerag (actually I might have added toerag). Darren is that horrible little spoilt boy you knew at school, he knows the character and plays it up so well. Both went at it like foes who know each other well and barely took a breath from the all out offence until Darren hit the Sister Abigail for the three count.

Winner: Darrent Tran

Darren Tran & Flying Felix Vs The British Horror & Hai Nguyen

But as Darren turned down his heel tendencies to thank his long term training partner for an instant classic, none other than the British Horror turned up and demanded a 2 on 1 match. However, due to ongoing changes in regulations, he was informed he needed a tag partner. Who should volunteer? None other than Hai Nguyen. If you haven't heard of Hai Nguyen before then take a look at the footage from Saigon Slam Jam. Hai Nguyen is a masked comedy character built around Vietnamese values and traditional Vietnamese comedy. This writer is sure a Vietnamese person could explain the character better than we can, but the crowd reaction told you everything you needed to know about how well it lands.

Anyway, the match went awry as Hai Nguyen would not follow the lead of British Horror to be vicious and ended up being dropped for the pin by an exhausted Flying Felix. Following this, an angry Horror insisted on taking on Hai Nguyen, who managed to secure an emotional five minute challenge where if he survived he could enter the VPW Rumble — August 22nd, tickets on sale now.

Winner: Darren Tran and Flying Felinx

5 Minute Challenge- Hai Nguyen Vs The British Horror

After a lot of comedy stalling, he held on through The Devil's Drop to beat the timer and enter the Rumble to a huge ovation. Luckily, after this, Hai Nguyen settled down to his clearing and music duties again.

Survivor: Hai Nguyen

Kira Vs Damien Wolfe Vs Ba Tu

Next up we were treated to Ba Tu (sp*), who is an oddly familiar newcomer, taking on Kira and Damien in a battle of new school vs old school. The match was another highly athletic clash that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Just like last time it was a real pleasure watching the two VPW originals turn it up to 10 in a longer match and once again Kira was the victor.

Winner: Kira

The Undead Spirit Khoa Truong and Jimmy AG Vs Ronnie El Rapido & The Meteor Kid

Next up, more new school vs old school as Ronnie El Rapido & Meteor Kid took on Khoa Truong & Jimmy AG in another all action hard hitting encounter that made you forget Ronnie and Meteor have been on the main roster under a year. The veterans got the win on this night, but not without a challenge. This was a really solid 5-8 minute match between all four.

Winner: Khoa Truong and Jimmy AG

Ares Vs Bobby

The main event saw Bobby, who seems incapable of coming to the academy in a pleasant mood, take on VPW Vietnam Champion Ares in a non-title contest. The two went at it like the heavyweights they are, shaking the training ring to its very core and exploding into the fans at ringside. In the end of the explosive ten minute bout, Ares hit the spear for the three count.

Winner: Ares

The final announcement was that Ares' next title defence will be at The Rumble against Xiumin Long.

An excellent small show. Like said at the beginning, this could have been a main show with the card put on, and it built to the Rumble nicely for the absolute hardcore who came along.

*(small hall refers to a more common venue of wrestling for decades in the UK. If it shaped Bryan Danielson, it's good enough for anyone.)