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NWA Main Event TV
Airing July 18, 2009
Taped in Nashville at the Community Life Center
This episode is now available for viewing at [url=http://www.nwame.com/nwame71809.html] NWA Main Event Wrestling[/url]
Opening with a plug for the weekly Thursday night tapings at 413 Veritas St in Nashville.
NWA Main Event returns to the Cannon County Community Center in Woodbury, Tn on July 23 with Jerry Lawler vs. Wolfie D in the main event. Also advertised were Shawn Shultz, Teddy Tender, Matt Boyce and many more.
Good news: The broadcast team of Jason James and Tyler Clemmons was back in action. Clemmons returned to do color commentary for the first time in 7 months as a sub for Scott Barry.
1 – “Outlaw' BEN WOODS & RAUL LOCO vs. KNUCKLES & KNIVES (Johnny Punch & Rudy Switchblade)
JIP. Tyler said he was blown away by the new digs on Veritas Street. Punch was taking a beating. James said Boyce had earned a rematch with Shultz for the Mid-America TV Championship for today's main event. Fanboy Tyler was hot to see Shultz. Woods hurt his knee on when he missed a high boot. Not sure how he managed that, as his knee appeared to rebound harmlessly off the ropes. Switchblade cleaned house, using a double stomp and a senton backsplash on Loco. Four way pandemonium led to collision of heels. K & K smoked Woods with a double dropkick. Loco was pinned by Switchblade after a lariat/german suplex combo.
WINNER: Knuckles & Knives in 5 minutes. The finishing sequence was a major improvement over K & K's debut match two weeks ago. Switchblade was far more effective with the hot tag than Punch.
2 – Non-Title Match: NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion STEVE-O vs. TEDDY TENDER Tender was wearing a ridiculous black wig that made him look like Tony Clifton. James discussed the “he's coming†ad campaign and joked about it being Tyler, and how crazy it would make Trent Van Drisse if that were the case. A dropkick by O sent Tender flying in one direction, while his hair helmet went flying in another. Tender countered O's backslide attempt with a donkey kick to the man region to take over. James said Little Jimmie Dickens, age 88 and a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, was in the crowd. Douglas busted out this bizarre strutting leg drop and the swivel hips. Out of the blue, O pinned Tender with a nicely executed O'Connor Roll.
WINNER: Steve-O in 6:30. Perversely entertaining.
3 -- TOMMY MERCER & STEVE-O vs. “Wild Thing†WILL OWENS & JEFF “The Crippler†DANIELS
It stated as a singles match between Mercer and Owens. Mercer, a lanky blonde haired kid, was taking it to Owens when Daniels interfered. I have no idea why Jamie Ferrari didn't DQ Owens except they needed to segue to a tag match. Sometimes with NWA ME, it's best not to ask such penetrating questions. Steve-O came to Mercer's rescue and they cleared the ring with a double dropkick. Ferrari ordered a tag match. There was a spot early where Mercer singlehandedly bested Daniels and Owens in a test of strength. Daniels played a lengthy game of hide and seek with Ferrari. He eventually used the bionic popsicle stick on Mercer, and bad guys got heat on him. Daniels made a phantom tag. James didn't want to hear the word “phantom†after what happened on [url=www.blogtalkradio.com/TVD] the July 13 edition of Jerkin' the Curtain[/url]. James said Barry was still blown up from the marathon interview. “You had to spend two hours with those specimens?†said a rejvenated Clemons - “like Phoenix rising from Arizona.†James reiterated how Steve-O defeated Jeff Daniels 3-2 in a 60 minute Iron Man Match in Oklahoma City to win the title. Owens used hair to take Mercer down with a rear chinlock. Clemmons called it a leverage move. Mercer started to fade but managed a comeback. Daniels came in to distract Ferrarri from seeing the world's worst backslide by Mercer. There was a strange looking collision of lariats between Owens and Mercer for the double down. Hot tag. The faces delivered the 10 punches of doom, except Mercer quit after 5. The heels avoided a collision, then jetted out of the ring to avoid eating big moves from Mercer and O. They headed for the dressing room, while the fans joined Ferrari in making the 10 count. .
WINNERS: Mercer & Steve-O via count out at 19:15. This worked in spite of itself. Not much action and Mercer is really green, but Owens and Daniels are such great chicken***** that they had they drew the crowd into the match and even got a pop for the count out. Anybody with Mercer's size and athletic ability that gets into pro wrestling has a chance to make it. James and Clemmons made the slow pace of the match easy to tolerate.
4 – NWA Mid-America TV Title Match: Champion SHAWN SHULTZ (with Tony Lucassio) vs. MATT BOYCE
And your referee is TNA's Rudy Charles. At 3 minutes in, Lucassio tripped up Boyce to set up a lariat by Shultz. Clemmons was up to his usual shameless favoritism towards Shultz. James said if Shultz beat O in the champion vs. champion match next week, he might lose his job and have to head up I-65 to Millersville or even Interstate Drive. Clemmons said that would be time to hang it up. Finish saw Mike Posey come to ringside to distract Charles. Lucassio held Boyce for Shultz. Shultz slugged Lucassio when Boyce slipped out his grasp. Boyce DDTed Shultz for the pin.
WINNER: Boyce at 7:40 to become the new NWA Mid-America TV Champion. An OK match elevated by the commentary and the suprising finish. This was the first time I was able to take Boyce seriously. His punching was crisp, and the shorter hair cut is a much better look for him.
Color bars appeared on the screen accompanied by the message - NWA Main Event will be no more!
THOUGHTS: This was not a show to watch for the wrestling, but it certainly kept me entertained. James said I would like it and he was right: There's something about the way James and Clemmons interact that I find very listenable. Much of the hilarity came from inside comments, and while that kind of stuff certainly doesn't add viewers or ticket buyers, I doubt that it does and harm in those areas. Owens/Daniels vs. Mercer/O did a good job telling the story. I can't imagine them getting more out of a guy as green as Mercer than they did here. Owens and Daniels did such a stellar job that the crowd was totally into the count out. I have mixed feeling about Boyce beating Shultz. I liked the surprise element. Announcing the title vs. title match for next week made it a given that Shultz would win. It elevates Boyce, but I can't see him holding the title long. As for Shultz, his youngest and longest reigning champion gimmick was the thing I liked best about this show. It will be interesting to see what they do with the title vs. title deal. As good as the new setup at Veritas Street is for TV, it's a shame they don't have a number two camera, and the overall production has such a bare bones look.
