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Deep South Wrestling returned to action after a year plus hiatus with a free outdoor show at the Liberty Village in McDonough, Georgia Saturday night.
This could be called DSW – Chapter Four. Jody Hamilton first ran under the Deep South name in the mid to late 80s. He brought the name back when he ran the WWE development operation in McDonough during 2006-2007. During the summer of ’07, an entirely forgettable string of shows was staged during in Locust Grove, at a rundown, sweatbox, auto auction garage.
The ambience of last night’s bare bones re-launch reminded me of Locust Grove, except the air was lot cooler and the matches were better. The show was sponsored by merchants in the adjoining strip mall with a crowd of about 100 on hand. They had maybe 50 chairs set up and one light pole – placed strategically so the majority of fans could have the pleasure of the light shining right into their faces. There was no banner or anything to identify it as a DSW show. They had two tents set up to serve as the dressing rooms. The ring was hard and no fun at all to bump in. They stretched five matches out to a two hour show. It may have been the only show I’ve ever attended where every match went longer than 10 minutes.
Ring announcers Ted Guinness and Nigel Sherrod gave a rundown of the card. Sherrod said Tracy Taylor wasn’t there because her plane was grounded in Chicago, so Bambi had no opponent. Sherrod said Bambi would have been no competition for Taylor anyway. That brought you know who to the ring. Sherrod continued to run Bambi down, comparing her to how worthless Sarah Palin was to the Republican ticket. The crowd was suggesting Sherrod as Bambi’s opponent before she got a chance to issue the challenge.
(1) Adrian Hawkins beat Kyle Matthews in 12:37. They switched up their roles in Anarchy. Crowd was moderately into Hawkins as a babyface. Matthews dominated, cutting off a plethora of comebacks. Matthews ate the turnbuckle charging in, and Hawkins hit a flying crossbody for the pin. Good opener.
(2) Scotty Blaze beat Murder One in 13:05. There was nothing smooth about this match. The hard ring and the funky ropes gave them trouble, and they never really got on the same page. M-1 worked over Blaze’s neck for a long time. He tried to submit Blaze with a cobra clutch and a full nelson. Blaze hit a flying shoulder block to crank up a dubious aerial comeback. Blaze pinned M-1 after a spinkick, which M-1 sold like he was knocked silly.
(3) Bambi beat Nigel Sherrod in 10:20. Outside the main event, this match got the best heat. They busted out the “Nigel sucks†chant – the only chant of the night. Bambi worked stiff. She kicked Nigel in the ass to send him out of the ring. Sherrod used an assortment of underhanded tactics like pulling Bambi’s hair. She chopped the crap out of him. Bambi caught Sherrod right on the button with a Wrestling II kneelift for a near fall. They traded blows and Bambi lit Nigel up again. Bambi administered the 10 punches. Sherrod took the Flair flip bump on a whip into the corner, and Bambi knocked him off the apron with a chop. Sherrod choked Bambi with his wrist tape. Bambi hit a stunner for the pin. Highly entertaining.
(4) Exotic Ones (Simon Sermon & Rick Michaels) beat Thunder & Lightning (Chris Ganzer & Chris Lightning) in 10:24. The Exotics toned down the gayness of their act compared to what they do in Cedartown for NAWA. The smaller babyfaces (also regulars with NAWA) worked a high energy style. Ganzer is, at this point, a much better wrestler than he was a referee in PWE. Sermon hit this awesome crucifix powerbomb dropped into a shoulder breaker on Ganzer, and Exotics beat the living hell out of him. Off the hot tag, Lightning popped the crowd with a double dropkick. The finish gave McGowan a chance to show why he’s the best ref in the state of Georgia – credible, authoritative, and his timing is spot on. Ganzer hit a Hart Attack style missile dropkick on Sermon, but McGowan chased Ganzer out because he wasn’t legal. Meanwhile, Michaels switched places with Sermon (they were wearing matching gear at least). Michaels played possum and reversed Lightning with a small package.
Cru Jones beat Sal Rinauro in 17:42. Best wrestling and also the strongest crowd response. I’m sketchy on the details. This was a pretty casual affair, so for me, it was also a chance to connect with old friends. Jones got heat with some funny crowd interaction. Rinauro kept taking Jones down with arm drags. Jones used the tights to send Rinauro’s head into the turnbuckle. Rinauro’s knee locked on the move, but he was OK after the show. Jones worked the neck. Rinauro made a nice comeback with a sliding through the ropes lariat and a springboard lariat where referee Rob Russo made a slow count. Jones hit a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Russo screwed Rinauro on the finish. It looked like Rinauro had Jones pinned, but Russo halted the count and then fast counted Rinauro while Jones pulled the tights.
They set up a match for an undefined follow up show. Rinauro decked Jones with a superkick. As Russo was helping Jones to the back, Rinauro asked for a match against Jones where if he won, he got five minutes with Russo. Rinauro challenged "Chuck Norris" to display his Kung Fu skills.
NOTES: Sarah Murton, who helped engineer the Six Flags deal for DSW in 2006, is heading up the promotional efforts. Murton said they definitely plan to run more shows and hope to have another one within a month…Former DSW associates Bill DeMott and Dave Taylor were seen socializing. Scrappy McGowan was manning the ringside table with Jody Hamilton.
