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Showtime All-Star Wrestling – Episode 105
Airing September 5, 2009 in Nashville, Tn on CW 58
Taped at the SAW Mill in Millersville, Tn
Michael Graham and Reno Riggins at ringside with the fog machine working overtime in the background. They previewed the upcoming hour including an up close and personal look at the SAW International Champion Kid Kash and a rematch of last week’s main event: Rick Santel vs. Cassidy Riley.
1 – “Teen Excitement†DREW HASKINS (with Derrick King & JT Stahr & Sista O’Feelyah) vs. AIDEN SCOTT
Coming to the ring, Haskins was full of vim and vigor, checking himself out in O’Feelyah mirror. Scott got off to a flying start, almost scoring the upset with a Codebreaker. Haskins eluded Scott’s charge and went nuts. Just mauled the guy, then delivered a suplex with authority. Haskins hit a running bulldog and grounded Scott with a figure four headscissors. Riggins, who was Haskins original trainer, said he was only 19 and a lot of athletes make mistakes at that age. Haskins busted his ass when Scott slipped out of a second bulldog attempt. Scott did an Eddie Guerrero- style rolling cradle, and Haskins landed on his face for a two count. Haskins moved at the last split second to avoid Scott’s dive off the ropes. Haskins nailed Scott right in the mush with a spinkick and launched from the top with a picture perfect flying body press for the pin.
WINNER: Haskins in 3:08. A marvelous debut match for the “Teen Excitement†era Haskins. Love the gimmick. Better yet, Haskins looked like a completely different wrestler – smoother, more powerful and just plain mean. Scott gave him the right amount of trouble.
Graham was joined at ringside by DKE. Haskins said he was so excited, that he was at a loss for words…but he kept talking.
Derrick King is taking Drew Haskins straight to the top – movies, sitcoms, magazines – there’s nothing Derrick King can’t do for “Teen Excitementâ€.
Stahr said he was Twittering about it right now.
Buzzfest ’09 comes to Nashville Friday, September 11 and SAW will be there. Come to the official after party at Buffalo Billiards and see SAW stars Andy Douglas, Rick Santel and Vordell Walker will be in action. The cameras will be rolling for the CW 58 guest announcer contest.
An awesome Kash highlight video aired. Kash was portrayed as equal parts MMA fighter, street brawler and violent psychopath.
2 – Saw International Champion KID KASH vs. ARRICK ANDREWS (Original Air Date July 18, 2009)
Joined in progress at 7:30. This match originally aired as part of Episode 89. Not that it matters. Suffice to say, Kash gave Andrews a wicked beating. After a ref Mark Owen got bumped, Kash bashed Andrews’ with the belt and put one foot on his chest. Ref #2 Jesse Fields showed up to make the three count. Fields handed the belt to Kash, but Owen reversed the decision.
WINNER: Andrews via DQ at 15 minutes. It was better match in edited form with all of Kash’s early BS clipped out. Really strong heat. I had forgotten just how loved Andrews is (was?) at the SAW Mill.
Brandy Malone conducted a sitdown interview with Jon Michael Worthington. Worthington said that after Jesse Emerson hit him with a steel chair, it took until the middle of the next week for him to remember his own name. He referred to Emerson as “Ferguson†and thought his own name was Remington. Furthermore, Worthington now claimed to have no memory of going through Emerson’s bag and tearing up the photo of his deceased sister.
3 – JON MICHAEL WORTHINGTON vs. JESSE EMERSON
JMW pounced on Emerson as he slid into the ring. He seized the advantage with stiff brawling. Those punches were connecting. JMW followed a high kneelift with a wicked rabbit lariat for a near fall. Graham wasn’t buying Worthington’s claim of amnesia. Emerson made Worthington miss on a corner splash. Emerson bombarded Worthington with chops and lariats. After a high backdrop, Emerson started raining down blows from the mount. Worthington managed to escape and use the Three Stooges eye poke. Both selling the damage that had already been inflicted. Worthington with a big clothesline for a two count. They staggered each other with chops. JMW hit a rocker dropper for a near fall. (Commercial break) Worthington nailed Emerson with a Yakuza kick to the temple and covered, but the ref saw his feet on the ropes. Emerson powered out of a rear chinlock and caught Worthington in a full nelson. JMW dropped to his back and sent Emerson’s head into the turnbuckle with a double boot. They throttled each other by their respective throats. Reno said this was the kind of brawl you might see in West Nashville at the trolley. Emerson repeatedly sent Worthington to the canvas with high impact moves. Emerson nailed a running lariat and called for one more to finish it, but JMW kneed him in the gut. Worthington tried for the Brentwood Breaker. Emerson escaped. The knocked noggins and went down flat on their backs. Worthington landed with one arm over Emerson, and the ref made the three count.
WINNER: Worthington in 7:48. Super intensity. These guys are making a habit out of beating the living hell out of one another. This match deserved a much better crowd reaction than it got. Finish was sketchy. No need to replay it three times.
Postmatch, they continued to trade huge shots on rubber legs. The refs tried to restore order, but couldn’t keep them apart. Worthington finally rolled under the ropes.
Raven was standing in a darkened farm field (behind the SAW Mill I believe). Using a strange English accent, Raven said he had an inhuman kindness because he was willing to give a chance at redemption. Marc Anthony (wearing the army helmet) approached from across the field. Raven said his son was back with his one shot at redemption. Anthony went to his knees. “My father has forgiven me, but I shall not forgive anyone in the SAW Mill (laughs softly to himself). FOR HAVOC IS UPON YOU. Darkness is about to fall. An unlike the bedtime stories you hear as a child. There will be no happy ending.†Father and son agreed on the ending - Raven on his throne knighting Anthony.
Graham and Riggins confirmed that Anthony was on his way back to SAW. They cut to a video package, opening with the vignette from episode 91 - Anthony in a civil war uniform standing in front of the Tennessee State Capital - the one in which he buried Gary Valiant without naming him. In the midst of his words, clips appeared showing various atrocities Anthony had committed during his previous reign of terror in SAW. Extremely effective.
EARLIER TODAY…Santel said Riley was the biggest butt monkey walking the face of God’s green earth to want him in a match. “If you think you’re going to have a long, illustrious career in SAW, if you think that’s in your future, you better think again, because at the hands of The OMG, it’s going to be cut short.â€
4 – “Nature’s Greatest Miracle†RICK SANTEL (with Paul Adams) vs. CASSIDY RILEY
Adams appeared to have an ice pack wrapped inside his towel and was holding against his jaw, like he was still hurting from last week. Fog machine out of control again. They waited for the haze to clear so that could start wrestling. Santel got the first takedown with a leg trip. Riley took Santel’s leg out for a one count, and Santel took a time out. Reno said Santel wanted to slow things down after last week. Moments later, Adams accidentally tripped up his own man and Riley rolled him up for a near fall. Santel looked at Adams like WTF? and got rolled up again. Riley got another two count with an O’Connor Roll. When Riley went for the DDT (that won the match for him last week), Santel bailed. Riley brought him in the hardway. Bigtime bump by Santel. Riley hit a backbreaker for a two count and worked the body part. Reno said Riley was manhandling Santel. Graham teased a “world class†manager coming in for the Fairgrounds show (most likely referring to Jimmy Hart). Santel came back with a scoop slam, but missed with an elbow drop, and got slammed by Riley. Coming out of the commercial break, Santel had Riley in the surfboard. Big comeback by Riley. Bigger bumps by Santel. Riley went to the top. Adams grabbed Riley by the leg and slid the towel to Santel. While ref Joe Williams was fooling with Adams, Santel whacked Riley across the face with the loaded towel. Lights out for the three count. Adams claimed Riley tried to take the towel, which was merely filled with gauze pads.
WINNER: Santel at 7:02 with a loaded towel. Not much action. Crowd was thinned out and relatively dead. On the bright side, Santel never fails to entertain me these days. The finish really saved it.
CLOSING THOUGHTS: Week two on prime time in Nashville was another good show. Mr. Adams and company are still not up to full speed when it comes to SAW’s strongest suit - the storytelling, and for good reason. They’re taking care to properly introduce the cast of characters. The video packages for the prime time debuts of Kash and Anthony were fantastic. Both men were presented as unique, larger than life, and driven to go to any length. Kash/Andrews made a great case for Kash as the SAW champion, but it sure didn’t do Andrews any favors as a future challenger. The Anthony video made up for the lackluster vignette that preceded it I understand why SAW would want Raven on their TV, both for starpower and storyline purposes, but this was a fail. Anthony’s on screen presence blew Raven’s away. Raven’s weird accent didn’t work at all. It felt lightweight and comical -a poor fit with a dark character like Anthony…The opening match and promo by Haskins was amazing. Twittering at ringside. Teen Excitement running wild. How could this be the same guy? Worthington and Emerson had their best brawl yet. This has turned into an excellent feud. They already had clear and compelling reasons to hate each other’s guts, and now they throw in the disingenuous amnesia claim by the slimy rich guy (although the Worthington interview could have used a little more subtlety). I didn’t care much for the finish, but the inconclusive nature of it built more tension going forward. The puzzling thing was the lack of crowd reaction. It was as if they still don’t get the angle…Similar to the previous episode, the only major drawback to this week’s show was that it started much hotter than it ended. Pushed as Chase Stevens’ avenger, a top level babyface right from the get go, Riley has had two average main events. The SAW Mill crowd sure didn’t help this one. What’s up with those people? The fortunate thing was match quality didn’t matter much, because the finish worked so well.
