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Showtime All-Star Wrestling – Episode 101
Airing August 8, 2009 on WKRP in Lebanon, Tn
Taped at the SAW Mill in Millersville, Tn
This a company with a lot going on these days. Check out the [url=SAW’s upcoming events list [/url] and stayed tuned to [url=www.sawonline.tv]sawonline.tv[/url] for further developments.
LAST WEEK…Shane “The Brain†Smalls get a win with Poetry in Motion…Jesse Emerson takes umbrage to the actions of Jon Michael Worthington and dished out a dose of hypersensitivity…Hammerjack defeats David Young in the Streetfight Match with the dreaded piledriver.
As A-Team (Rick Santel & Andy Douglas with Paul Adams) approaches the SAW Mill with sad faces, Michael Graham inquired about the status of David Young. Santel said they were in mourning because they suffered a grave loss. Graham was apologetic. He knew David Young was hurt, but didn’t assume the worst. Adams said yeah, Young was badly injured and might not wrestle again. “That’s not what Rick’s talking about. He said we suffered a loss. Look at this man’s hair right here,†referring to Douglas’ shorter hair style. Graham called it a coif. Douglas coughed on the word “coif.†He said Chase Stevens tried to shame him out of SAW, but all he did was give him a new beginning.
There’s not going to be any holds tonight. There’s not going to be any reversals, this, that and the other. Chase, the only thing that’s left is a fight between you and the real deal, Andy Douglas.
They cut to a clip of Worthington going through Emerson’s bag. Graham warned viewers they might be shocked by the upcoming comments (pretaped) from Emerson and Worthington.
Emerson apologized for being emotional. He said he didn’t like to let his emotions get too involved when he competed, but Worthington had made it personal. Emerson revealed that the photo Worthington took out of his bag and tore up was of his deceased sister, Pam, who died a year ago. Emerson talked about how close they were, and said he devoted his matches to her.
Worthington said it was Emerson’s actions that were outrageous – attacking him during his interview time and showing footage that never should have been shown. Worthington showed no remorse. He said it was just a photo. He implied that Emerson’s sister lived an unsavory lifestyle, and as much as said it was STD that did her in.
1 – JON MICHAEL WORTHINGTON vs. JESSE EMERSON
The announce team was appalled by Worthington’s tasteless, classless behavior. He just didn’t say it like that. Emerson double legged Worthington and started beating his head in. Worthington kept trying to escape. Emerson would have none of it and continued to dish out stiff blows. Reno called it a Maalox moment for Worthington. At 2 minutes in, Emerson went for the 10 punches of doom. He got to eight before Worthington dropped his noggin squarely on top of the ringpost. Emerson sold it like his bell was rung bigtime. Emerson fired back, but Worthington decked him with a right to the jaw for a two count. (Commercial break) Emerson freed himself from Worthington’s rear chinlock and went for a Lawler fist drop, but Worthington got his knees up. As Worthington got sustained offense, the announce team made him out to be the scum of the earth. Graham started rooting for an Emerson comeback. Worthington kept cutting him off. Emerson’s back was in a bad way. Worthington drove Emerson to the mat with a series of straight rights. Emerson got the better of the next punch exchange, knocking Worthington down with a wind up haymaker. Emerson with a dropkick. Emerson tried for the Alabama Slam. Blocked by Worthington. Emerson let the fists fly from the mount position. Emerson hit a powerslam for a near fall. Worthington bailed and motioned he had had enough. From his knees, Emerson reached through the ropes and grabbed Worthington’s hair. Ref Joe Wiliams tried to force a break. Emerson shoved him away. Worthington BLASTED Emerson with a chairshot to the head and crawled inside for the cover. Reno called it a 500 ft home run.
WINNER: Worthington in 8:53 with the chairshot from hell. What a finish. Never saw it coming. Emerson has transformed into quite the brawler.
Top 10 list: SAW International Champion–Kid Kash 1-Stevens 2-Hammerjack 3–Emerson 4-Arrick Andrews 5-Douglas 6–Santel 7–Sean Casey 8-Worthington 9–Smalls 10-Young.
They aired a great highlight package of the history between Douglas and Stevens in SAW.
2 – CHASE STEVENS vs. ANDY DOUGLAS (with Paul Adams)
Furious back and forth brawling right from the opening bell. Reno said each match pushed them closer to the edge and it was a miracle that their bodies were holding up. Graham said there was no way either man was at 100%. Stevens was bleeding from the forehead within the first two minutes. Douglas attacked the cut to open it up. Stevens stopped Douglas in his track with a low blow. Stevens pounded Douglas outside the ring, and rammed his head into the decorative steel fence a few times. Douglas was busted open. Douglas rolled back inside, and Stevens made the first pin attempt of the match. (Commercial break) Big punches with Stevens doing most of the damage. Douglas was staggering around the ring wearing the crimson mask. Douglas went down face first. Stevens rolled him over for a two count. Stevens hit a 12 count stalling suplex and floated into a cover. Douglas kicked out. Reno said Stevens held Douglas up there so long; it was like he was trying to drain all the blood through the top of his head. Douglas fired a series of punches, putting Stevens down with a big right, and fell on top for a two count. Stevens answered with a lariat. (Commercial break) Stevens summoned a burst of energy with a moonsault out of the corner. Hook of the leg and Douglas rolled a shoulder at 2 and ¾. Douglas used trunks to sling Stevens through the ropes. Douglas then used Stevens’ head to bust up a wooden chair. Douglas dragged Stevens’ face along the ring apron. They cut to a close up of the blood smeared all along the apron. Stevens went to his knees on the ramp, and Douglas ran down it with a boot to the head. Douglas tossed Stevens back inside for the cover. Stevens rolled a shoulder just before the three. (Commercial break) “Go Chase Go†chant from the crowd. Douglas hit a high knee. Quick to cover this time but Stevens kicked out. In denial, Douglas covered again. Same result. From his back, Stevens stunned Douglas with a short right hand. Stevens used the ropes to pull himself up. Stevens outpunched Douglas. Stevens with a flying forearm. Both men down. Stevens kipped up and hit a fireman’s carry slam for a close near fall. Douglas responded with a hangman neckbreaker for a near fall. Reno said doubt had to be coming into their minds. Douglas caught Stevens with a standing sleeper. He got Stevens to the mat, but Stevens kept fighting it. Back on his feet, Stevens ran Douglas into the turnbuckles. Douglas reapplied the hold and took Stevens back down. The arm dropped twice, and got to within inches of the mat the third time. Stevens broke it for good with a jawbreaker. Punching comeback by Stevens. Russian legsweep and a floatover but no three count. Stevens countered the Natural Selection with a small package and hit the fisherman suplex. Douglas kicked out of that, too. In a state of complete exhaustion, they traded punches from their knees. On their feet now and still trading with only the ropes to hold them up. They simultaneously connected with huge right hands. Both men collapsed to the mat. Each man tried using the ropes to regain a vertical base, but neither of them could beat the 10 count. Stevens made it a second late.
WINNER: A double knockout at 18:12. In the context of the feud, this was sensational. Just an all out war. The transitions, if you can call them that, consisted of big punches, and these guys know how to throw them. Bigtime drama. Superb selling. And the announcers did a great job of giving it a sense of realism.
They showed a replay of the finish, then cut back to the ring to show Stevens and Douglas looking thoroughly wasted.
CLOSING THOUGHTS: Stevens and Douglas delivered the most memorable match in company history. There have been SAW matches with better wrestling. This was a fight - two major league level guys going all out with neither man giving an each. Their previous matches have ranged from OK to excellent, but even the best ones left me feeling they had something better in them. This, their fifth singles match in a feud that has raged throughout 2009, was the stuff that legends are made of. They waited 8 months into it to use blood. And the cool thing is, it’s not the end. It may not even be the beginning of the end…A-Team in mourning was a great way to open the show. It was another chance for Douglas to shine. He’s shown a range of emotion in this program like never before…The revelation of who was in the Emerson’s photo was a shocker, as was the violent finish. For a program that got off to a horrible start, this has gotten really good. The content of the interviews was stronger than the actual talking. The one problem with it is that Worthington doesn’t come across like a guy from a wealthy background…Top to bottom, this was a tremendous episode of wrestling television. Some of SAW’s better episodes have been watered down by weak segments in the middle of the hour. Not this time. They focused on two stories and did them both proud. As Reno put it during the main, this was SAW at its best.
