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Jeremy Vain was crowned as the new NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Champion last night in Cornelia, ending Shadow Jackson’s title run at 6 months with a finish as high in drama as any in Anarchy history.
A crowd of 150 proudly endured a sweltering NWA Arena on the hottest day of the 2009 thus far. And as luck would have it, this was one of those nights when Anarchy was taping three hours.
The story development and wrestling were both top notch. Under more comfortable circumstances, it would have been their best taping of the year, because the only thing it lacked was great heat, especially as the evening wore on.
NWA Anarchy owner Jerry Palmer addressed the faithful – “fat as a pig, pissed off and hot.†Palmer said the Reid Clark Rumble would take place as part of the July 18 show, highlighting the the parejas increÃbles angle with tag partners being drawn at random by the fans (see notes section for further details).
The first hour opened with a WrestleVision segment featuring Entourage. Jay Clinton showed up from his head shaving wearing a curly black wig strapped onto his head with a bonnet. Sort of a Little Red Riding Hood look except the bonnet was this pukey orange color. Entourage was blowing sunshine up his skirt about how good he looked. They told him he needed to step tonight. Worked him good. Jeff Lewis’ facial expression during this segment were pretty awesome.
(1) Bo Newsome won a Young Lions Turmoil Match in 12:47. A sequence of singles matches each with a five minutes time limit. Todd Sexton came out to do color commentator. It opened with Clinton rolled out the red carpet for his own entrance, then rolled it back up and hustled back to the ring to await his opponent. Freaking hilarious. It set up an explosive pop for Kareem Abdul Jamar. After a bit of light hearted entertainment and nice build to a bridging northern lights suplex, Clinton pinned Jamar with a top rope elbow drop at 1:45. Veterano IV was next. The luchador got Clinton running the ropes to blow him up and nailed him with a sitout **** slap. Clinton did his ludicrous rope walk Memphis strut and actually hit an elbow drop off it. IV got the pin with a beautifully timed moonsault block at 4:18. Chrisjen Hayme was next. Lots of moves but it wasn’t connecting with the crowd. Hayme blocked a victory roll by IV to get the pin at 7:22. Chris Mayne was next. Mostly a striking match early. Crowd was dead. They did back and forth big moves for near falls. Hayme got five consecutive pin attempts as the time was winding down. Mayne and Hayme were both eliminated by the draw. As the last man to enter, Newsome won by default. Newsome (with a goatee!) said that wasn’t the way he wanted it. This was an ideal finish for the story with Sexton.
Sexton was irate that Newsome won merely by showing up. He challenged Newsome to a match where all Bo had to do was survive the five minutes. As soon as Newsome accepted, Sexton superkicked him.
(2) Bo Newsome beat Todd Sexton by lasting the five minute time limit. Sexton ordered Wes Grissom to call for the bell and made the cover, but Newsome kicked out just before the three. Newsome gathered his wits for an impressive flurry of aerial offense that had Sexton in trouble. Sexton turned it on with a minute to go. He locked in the crossface, but Newsome refused to tap.
Being the spoil sport a-hole that he is, Sexton blindsided Newsome with cheap shot and knocked him out with the running knee.
(3) Talent & Money (JT Talent & Drew Pendleton III) beat Dustin Knight & Anthony Henry in 6 minutes. Knight and Henry were opponents in a singles match two weeks ago. A fan picked up Knight’s vague resemblance to Pocahontas. The Royston boys early advantage came to an abrupt and painful halt when Talent hit a uranage backbreaker. T & M played the cool heels. Talent cut off Knight’s valiant effort to make the tag with a killer release German suplex. Pendleton taunted Henry into trying to interfere and punked him out with a hotshot. Sweet. Pendleton then pinned Knight after a devastating combo move – an inverted Killswitch by Pendleton into a jumping Flatliner by Talent. T & M have some ardent supporters among the fans, although its still a minority.
(4) Champion Phil Shatter (with Jeff G. Bailey) and Truitt Fields went to a 15 minute draw in a match for the NWA National Heavyweight Title. It was interesting to note that Fields’ physique is now as thick as Shatter’s. This match had a slow, simmering build. Shatter started out by taking a page out of Larry Zbyszko’s book. Shatter caught Fields with a power slam and went to work on his back bigtime. Shatter used a camel clutch and a Boston crab. He even busted out an old-fashioned body scissors. Fields was game with the comeback, but Shatter kept cutting him off. With two minutes to go, they knocked heads. Jeff McGowan’s count reached seven. Fields scored a series of high impact knockdowns. He hit a satellite Russian legsweep, but was slow to cover and Shatter kicked out. Fields hit an overhead belly to belly suplex, but Shatter’s leg was under the ropes. A brief tug of war over Shatter ensued between McGowan and Bailey. It gave Shatter the respite he needed. Shatter first spinebustered Fields for a near fall, then crushed him with spear that Fields somehow managed to kick out of. Fields hit the Killing Fields, but didn’t get all of it. Shatter rolled out to the floor, and the time limit expired. Good match. My sense was it didn’t build quite to the level they were hoping for.
The taping moved into hour number two without an intermission.
(5)Rowdy Friends (Don Matthews & Billy Buck & Chris King with Jessco Blue) beat Entourage (Jeff Lewis & Mike Mosley & Andrew Alexander with Jay Clinton) in 10:42. This match had heat. A few highlights of the shine: a) Alexander selling fear of Buck’s bionic elbows, b) Matthews’ channeling Stan Hansen on his elbow drops c) Buck needing for elbow to take Mosley off his feet. Alexander played his usual role as the master of outside interference to set up the heat on King, the babyface-in-peril par excellence. Mosley hit a nasty buckle bomb. Alexander gave King an even nastier slice ‘n dice stomp off the ropes. Matthews took the hot tag and wasted Lewis’ minions -Alexander with a gutbuster and Mosley with the BFK. Matthews had Lewis collared when Mosley and Alexander surprised him with a back suplex. Wild Bunch took out Mosley and King. It looked too choreographed. That left Matthews and Lewis. Ballet it was not. Matthews pinned Lewis with a vicious lariat. Crowd loved it. Blue removed Clinton’s wig to give the crowd a brief glimpse of the ugliness underneath.
(6) Ace Rockwell pinned Rob Adonis in 7:51. Rockwell had Adonis befuddled and bamboozled in the early going. Adonis super sold a dropkick with a bump over the top rope. When Adonis tried for the claw, Rockwell kicked him in the jewels. The tide turned when Rockwell tried for a Stinger splash, and Adonis turned it into an overhead suplex. Adonis zeroed in on Rockwell’s back. He used a spinebuster and an electric chair for near falls. The crowd would typically be behind Rockwell huge for a comeback. However, at this point they began to wilt in the heat. A lot of listless looking folks in the crowd. Rockwell came back with a trio of Stinger splashes to set up a bulldog off the ropes. Adonis kicked out and caught Rockwell with the claw. Finish looked cool, as Rockwell escaped from the claw and hit his finisher right over the top of referee Brent Wiley.
(7) New Wave (Steven Walters & Derrick Driver) beat Devil’s Rejects (Azrael & Skirra Corvus and The Reverend Dan Wilson) in 9:06 to retain the NWA Anarchy Tag Team Championship. New Wave got another monster pop for their ring entrance. They carry themselves like a confident, championship level team. New Wave came out firing on all cylinders. Corvus tried a Matrix move and ate a kneedrop from Walters. New Wave hit this killer looking double team on Corvus – a giant swing by Walters into a low dropkick from Driver. Reject trapped Walters in their corner and gave him a beating. Rejects hit a flashy double team of their own. Azrael took his glove off. The better to blister Walters’ chest with his legendary chops. Azrael unleashed strikes from every angle. He remains one of the must underrated wrestlers around. Corvus did his kneeling Cattle Mutilation variant and that wild looking hold where he hangs upside down in a reverse huracanrana position while snapping Walters’ neck against the top rope. Off the hot tag, New Wave smoked Walters with the double chest cracker. Corvus ate the ringpost charging in (breaking one of his front teeth in the process) and was rolled up by Driver. Good stuff. Action-packed.
Shaun Tempers hit the ring to join Azrael in a beatdown on the champs. Iceberg ran in (yes, he was running) for the save. New Wave recovered to help Berg clear the ring. Normally, you wouldn’t want to babyfaces to have the numbers, but Corvus was in no condition to help out.
Palmer said Rejects liked to play the numbers game, so he was going to help them with their math by evening things up. Palmer said Iceberg was going to take care of Rejects one-by-one starting with Azrael on July 11.
A brief intermission preceded the taping of hour number three.
(8) Mikal Judas defeated the NWA Anarchy TV Champion Shaun Tempers via DQ when Kimo interfered at 5:48. These guys beat the hell out of each other. I’ve said it a zillion times already, but I just cannot get over the fact that Judas hasn’t been signed by TNA or WWE. What more could they want? And for his part, Tempers was able to credibly match Judas in the power department. They traded hammerlocks before Judas exploded. Tempers’ selling of Judas’ punches was stellar. Judas hit four consecutive flying kneedrops for a near fall. He was about to kill Tempers with a Mafia kick when the Reverend interfered with his staff. Tempers seized the opportunity to jump on Judas’ back. Tempers wore Judas down enough to hit a middle rope elbow drop, but Judas reached up and goozled him. Enter Kimo for the DQ.
The Reverend ordered Tempers to brain Judas with the title belt. Kimo put Judas in the nerve hold and delivered the chop of death. Rockwell ran out with a steel chair to clear the ring. Judas eyeballed Rockwell and slid out of the ring.
Rockwell cut a promo for a title match on July 11 with Tempers. The promo was fine, but it got no crowd reaction at all. There was an awkward transition as Judas exited out the front door, and it felt to me like the crowd wanted more of Judas and Tempers.
Prior to the next match, Greg Hunter announced Slim J had not received medical clearance to wrestle, but Orion Bishop had opted to go it alone in a handicap match.
(9) Seth Delay & Brodie Chase beat Slim J & Orion Bishop in 8:41. A bit of a pop for the Rhinoesque one man wrecking crew. Chase received a red rose from his senior age female admirer. Delay made Bishop look like gold the way he was flying around for his offense. Not that he needed the help. Bishop is one of the stronger guys to ever get in an Anarchy ring. Even with the numbers, the heels needed chicanery to get the advantage. At one point, Chase laid down in the ring with the rose in his mouth. Bishop rammed Delay into the turnbuckles to break his sleeper hold. Chase played matador for Bishop’s bull rush and Delay ended up taking the spear. A big collision left Bishop on the mat. J ran in from the front door to take the hot tag. He cleaned up on Delay and Chase with roundhouse kicks. But J suddenly stopped to hold his concussed head and got rolled up by Delay.
(10) Jeremy Vain pinned Shadow Jackson at 21:29 to win the NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Title. This was high drama, beautifully constructed, and based on an emotionally compelling story. Vain put Jackson out with an ankle injury, but the real thing was he dared to touch Jackson's infant son. This would be Jacksons' revenge, Vain's final title shot. What more could you ask? Per the stipulations, Adonis was banned from ringside. That didn’t stop him from coming out with Vain. Referee McGowan enforced the ban, but Adonis hung around long enough to clip Jackson’s already injured ankle just as he was preparing to enter the ring. Palmer came out and said that just cost Vain his title shot. Vain argued that the bell never rang. Palmer had to concede the point. Palmer did however suspend Adonis indefinitely. Security showed Adonis the door. The bell rang and Vain was all over Shadow. Jackson was selling the ankle like crazy. He managed to knock Vain off the apron and into the rail, the first of many terrific bumps. Jackson destroyed Vain outside the ring. Smart move. Jackson had no mobility due to the ankle, and this allowed them to do spots involving little movement. Vain took a brutal hiptoss on the hardwood floor. A fan in the northwest corner held up a chair for Jackson to ram Vain’s head into. That’s becoming a standard spot for him. Jackson gave Vain a suplex on the ramp. Back inside the ring, Jackson tried for the 1031. Vain countered and clipped the ankle. Vain went nuts on Jackson’s ankle. Jackson was quivering on the mat. Vain applied a single leg crab. Jackson got a ropes break for a huge “Shadow†chant. Vain went to the figure four using the ropes for extra leverage. Jackson again made the ropes. Jackson came up no selling and double punching. Vain flew through the ropes on an uppercut. Jackson followed him out. Big mistake. Vain fired Jackson into the ringsteps. Jackson was bleeding as he rolled back into the ring. Vain hit the VKO/DDT combo. Jackson kicked out and Vain let loose with some Jackson a very bad name when he kicked out. Jackson fought off a second VKO and hit the 1031. Jackson made an agonizing crawl across the ring and threw an arm across Vain, who put his foot on the ropes. Jackson got two counts with an inside cradle and a backslide. Nobody was buying either as the finish. Vain gave Jackson a wicked Ace crusher to the ankle and locked in the figure four midring. No chance for a ropes break and no way Jackson was tapping. Two count and Jackson got a shoulder up. With blood streaming down his face, Jackson made a last gasp fight to reverse it. The fist was shaking and you knew he had it. Just as Jackson got the upper hand, Vain used the ropes to put him on his back, and he was done. McGowan made the three count. What a finish. Stunned silence. A lot of people headed right for the exits. Vain celebrated alone. He didn’t let that stop him from relishing the moment. No question, this was Anarchy’s best singles match of 2009.
NOTES: In the stuff legends are made of department, it seems that Jessco Blue was at the Bonnaroo Music Festival last weekend and needed to take a dump in the port-a-potty, and the next unfortunate soul to use the facilities was none other than Drew Barrymore. Blue made sure to hang around to watch her reaction. A class act.…No show on July 4. The July television tapings will be on July 11 and July 18…Fanfest 2009 takes place prior to the July 18 show. Palmer said it would be a scaled down version compared to 2008. The plan is to tape an hour of television during the first half, and the second hour will be the Reid Clark Rumble. The Rumble will consist of four tag matches with partners drawn at random by the fans. The four winning teams meet in a singles battle royal with 20 Hall County fireman as lumberjacks. Reid is a 9 year boy with muscular dystrophy, who is the son of a Hall County firefighter. Reid will be in attendance at the show. Tickets are $15 with a percentage of the proceeds going to the Clark family…Hostile Environment will take place in August 29…Anarchy talent will be appearing on the 4th of July show in Graysville, Tn.
