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Showtime All-star Wrestling – Episode 79
Airing on February 7, 2009 in Nashville on Comcast 74
Taped on January 16, 2009 at the SAW Mill in Millersville, Tn
Opening with Michael Graham and Reno Riggins at ringside with a wildly enthusiastic SRO crowd crammed into the SAW Mill. They displayed a spread on SAW that appeared in a recent issue of The Wrestler magazine. Wow, does anybody still read those mark mags? In your main event, Raven, a man Reno said had held major titles in every major wrestling organization in the world vs. “Boogie Woogie Boy†Gary Valiant.
1 – J.T. STAHR (with Derrick King & Sista O’Feelya) vs. CHASE OWENS
The announce team was putting the debuting Stahr over like a deity. He did this cool where he put on the brakes to avoid a hiptoss and connected with a dropkick. Shortly thereafter, Stahr nailed Owens with a running shin shot the mush. Stahr applied a submission with a purple nurple for good measure. Stahr’s finisher was a Northern lights power slam.
WINNER: Stahr in 2:40 with Greetings from Halifax. An impressive debut.
Dan Masters was at ringside with Derrick King Enterprises. Stahr said he was the best thing out of Canada since Bob Saget. He said the fans were seeing history in the making and were privileged to see a man as athletic and gorgeous as himself. In regards to a female heckler - “If I was a doctor, I would prescribe her picture to Viagra users that went past the 4 hour limit.â€
King introduced Sister O’Feelya as his personal assistant. He said while everyone else was living in a recession, at DKE, business was booming. King said a star was born.
As Vordell Walker was headed to the ring for his match, he was approached by DKE. King gave Walker a sales pitch and handed him his business card. Walker tore it up.
2 – VORDELL WALKER vs. V-RAD
WINNER: Walker at with the STO in 50 seconds. Horrible except for Walker’s finisher. These guys weren’t in the same zip code.
3 – FLASH FLANAGAN vs. RICK SANTEL (with Paul Adams)
The announce team detailed how A-Team had been eliminating their opponents. As a result of the ambush that took place last week, Nikki Vaughn was said to be out for six months and his career was in jeopardy. Graham said A-Team were also the prime suspects in the attack on Tribal Nation. Graham said Chase Stevens would be out 3-4 weeks with a concussion from Hammerjack’s sledge. Riggins said to expect an announcement from the SAW Board of Director’s regarding A-Team. Meanwhile, Flanagan’s patience was being exhausted by Santel’s chicanery. Flanagan dished out a sweet combination and Santel took another powder. Flanagan suplexed Santel back into the ring, but Adams tripped Flanagan to turn the tide. They cut to a shot of Adams flexing. Graham said it was the first concave bicep he had ever seen. Santel posted Flanagan’s shoulder and worked the body part for several minutes. A stunner by Flanagan left both men down. Flanagan went on the attack. Flanagan dropped Santel on his head with a Death Valley Driver. Graham sounded surprised when Santel kicked out. Riggins said Santel had toughened up under Adams. Santel hit a T-bone suplex and Flanagan rolled a shoulder at 2 and ½. Santel tried to set Flanagan up for a superplex. Flanagan shoved Santel to the mat and was preparing to come off the top when he was upended by Adams. Both men slow to rise. A weak looking forearm sent Santel down. Flanagan hit a springboard legdrop for the pin.
WINNER: Flanagan in 8:38. These guys meshed well. Good match especially the closing minutes with those near falls. Santel has added some muscle.
4 – CHRISJEN HAYME vs. JOHN MICHAEL WORTHINGTON
The rubber match in their series. Riggins said John Michael’s sister, the long lost Rachel Worthington had blown his phone demanding a rematch after Hayme evened things at 1-1. Worthington walked across the ring and started pounding on Hayme before the bell rang. It was all Worthington early. He used a corner splash followed by a pair of lackadaisical covers. Hayme rallied. He sent Worthington down with an enzuirgiri and then hit a flying bodypress for a near fall. Worthington dropped Hayme in his track with a huge lariat. Feeling the effects of Hayme’s attack, Worthington was slow to cover. Worthington with more big strikes and then a spinebuster, but Hayme managed to kick out again. Worthington tried for the Brentwood Breaker. Hayme had it scouted and hooked the ropes with his leg. Worthington used a European uppercut (made famous by Barry Horowitz according to Reno). Worthington hit a devastating kneelift-neckbreaker combo but made another lax cover. Hayme looked done in. Riggins said Hayme was showing some substance. After a brief comeback, Hayme mounted the ropes for the 10 punches. Worthington dropped Hayme and went for the pin with his feet on the ropes. TJ Harley ran down to the ring and knocked Worthington’s feet off. A flustered Worthington got rolled up by Hayme.
WINNER: Hayme in 6:32. They showed more emotion than in their previous matches – a major plus. Hayme came across like a real gamer taking all that punishment. Good timing on the finish.
5- RAVEN vs. “Boogie Woogie Boy†GARY VALIANT
Crowd big behind as Boogie as usual. No Miss Boogie in his corner, though. She hasn’t been seen at the SAW Mill since the closet incident with Marc Anthony. Reno said Raven had held titles in all the major wrestling organizations, but had no gold in SAW as of yet. Slow start with Boogie a step ahead. Raven used the tights to take Boogie down. Raven raked Boogie in the eyes and back. Boogie collapsed after taking an Irish whip. A money flip by Raven fell completely apart, so Raven used a guillotine into the bottom rope. Boogie was clutching at his windpipe and kicking his feet. Raven dragged Boogie outside the ring and rammed him into the ringpost a few times. Boogie ducked and Raven punched the post. Raven tried to punch with his left hand. Again, he hit the post. Raven was grimacing and selling like his hands were broken. Boogie started a comeback, but Raven posted him again. Back from commercial, Raven was still trying to shake off the damage to his hands. Raven tried to drop a fist, but Boogie moved and Raven punched the mat. Valiant Boogied up. He hit the Boogie Blaster and the light went out. The lights came on with Marc Anthony in the ring and the referee Mark Herron down. Anthony strapped Boogie to the tree of woe, gave him a running hip, and struck the Raven pose. Anthony moved in for the kill, and Valiant delivered a low blow. Anthony went down with his mouth open and his eyes crossed. Valiant rolled Raven up and Herron recovered to make the three count.
WINNER: Valiant in 8:30. As a wrestling match, this was pretty sloppy, but it did tell the story. Raven’s selling of the hands was a novel idea, and you can count on Boogie to sell big.
Pop of jubilation from the kids. The celebration was short lived, however, as Anthony leveled Boogie with a clothesline. Raven ordered Anthony to throw Boogie out of the ring. Raven handcuffed one of Valiant’s hands to the rope. While Anthony continued to pound and choke Boogie, Raven tied Boogie’s other hand to the rope with duct tape. It took a very long time. Reno said it was a sick, gutless act. Raven put make up on Boogie. Raven and Anthony did the crucifix pose.
Random Thoughts: This show was a fine example of telling stories in the ring. The babyface side got some badly needed retribution. IN the best match of the show, Flanagan overcame Adams’ interference to beat Santel. He needed a strong win after losing clean to Kash. A resilient Hayme took a major beating from Worthington, but managed to hang in there to get the assist from Harley. That match worked a lot better on TV than it did live. The main event wasn’t going to be a wrestling classic given who was involved. The hand gimmick worked around Raven’s physical limitations to some extent. Boogie overcame the odds to win, but it had to end with Boogie being humiliated to keep the story going. The duct tape malfunction kind of killed the suspension of disbelief, but it was even worse live…The DKE idea rules. King is a great fit for SAW. His presence adds something to any wrestling show. In Stahr and Walker, SAW has brought in two impressive newcomers. Putting them in a program has the potential for some stellar athletic matches…Graham and Riggins have developed into a smooth broadcast team. They did a great job here in getting the product over and focusing on the stories.
