Indie Wrestling News: NEW Year Two kick-off match -- Blake Maxwell (w/ Jon Biz) vs. Kiyoki

New Evolution Wrestling's (NEW) Year Two anniversary show took place on Dec. 29, 2017 at the CLB Armoury in St. John's, Newfoundland. The night was kicked off with a "dark match" of sorts for early-bird/VIP ticket-holders. This match was Blake Maxwell of the Family Bizniz vs Kiyoki. Maxwell, accompanied by his manager Jon Biz, walked out met universally with jeers and boos while the masked Kiyoki received a light but warm reaction from the early crowd.

The Match

When the bell rang, the ever-cocky heel Maxwell took early control, taking Kiyoki to the mat. Maxwell scored a few early near-falls but only ended up with two-counts each time. After berating referee Steven Griffiths for not counting fast enough for his liking, Maxwell kept Kiyoki on the ground and delivered several punches to the face, and then attempted a sleeper-hold submission.

Kiyoki rallied and got to his feet, breaking free with a series of elbows to the mid-section. Kiyoki took to the ropes for some momentum but Maxwell recovered quickly and delivered a devastating clothesline to Kiyoki for another nail-biting two-count.

While Maxwell briefly turned his attention to the crowd, Kiyoki performed a surprise roll-up on him for a near-fall but Maxwell kicked out at the two-count and delivered a flying kick to Kiyoki's face, covering him for a clean three-count and the win.

Blake Maxwell (Blue tights) rams Kiyoki into the turnbuckle. (Photo by J. Foley)

Results:

The winner via Pinfall: Blake Maxwell (w/ Jon Biz)

Biz took the microphone to praise Maxwell for his victory, calling him "the Next NEW Heavyweight Champion", and also the upcoming six-man tag match in which he will make his in-ring debut with The Family Bizniz (Biz, Maxwell and Buck Gotch) vs NEW tag-team champions Justin Lock and Psycho Mitch with third Dirty Don Martini.

This was a great match to get the early-bird crowd ready for more, but it was exactly what it was meant to be -- a kick-off match. Besides that incredible flying kick that put the final nail in Kiyoki's coffin, there weren't many spots -- but it successfully captured the attention of the crowd and generated some valuable heat for Maxwell and Biz ahead of the six-man tag match later.

Tonight's card includes a 3-Way Elimination match for the Heavyweight Title between reigning Champion "Wild Thing" Tony King, "The Redefinition" Scott Humphries and "Dynamite" Dylan Davis, as well as a match between Hurricane Helms and The American Patriot.