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NWA Anarchy returned to action Saturday night for their first television taping since Hostile Environment.
Attendance at the NWA Arena in Cornelia was 120. It was a tough crowd, as tough a crowd as this building has seen in a quite a while. They popped (sorta) for intros and finishes and that was about it. My theory was water log of the brains from all the rain and gloomy weather. One of the veterans presented an explanation that had equal merit. The essence being fans were given spectacular spots and cool moves galore at Hostile Environment, so they were numb to cheap thrills. It was paramount to keep them emotionally invested with primal stuff – evil, brutal heels and fiery babyfaces with heart.
It was a busy night. They had to throw a lot out there. As Palmer pointed out in his opening, there are only three taping before Fright Night, the shortest run between big shows Anarchy has ever done.
NWA Anarchy owner Jerry Palmer opened talking about how he exercised the demon, “Reverend†Dan Wilson at Hostile Environment and in so doing, cut the head off the snake that is Devil’s Rejects (Reverend bled heavily and did a stretcher job). Palmer was interrupted by music of New Jack.
New Jack entered the ring looking pimped out to the max in a purple suit and top hat. He was accompanied by bodyguard/protégé Bigg Q. He got a huge pop on a night when they were few and far between. Jack said he took a break and stopped the diving to let the new boys come in. Said we would be seeing him on the big screen. Jack introduced Q, and compared mentoring him to teaching a bastard kid tricks in the playground. Jack said he promised Bill Behrens he wasn’t to curse – “like inviting a fat woman to a smorgasbord and not letting her eat†- but he was going to follow through and collect 20 bucks from Bill. Jack said Cornelia was like his Motel 6 – they always leave the light on for him.
I’m like a disease. You stuck with me. I ain’t going nowhere. Bele dat.
Jack closed by suggesting Rick Michaels in a sissy fight for the main event. With that, he collected his $20 from Behrens and headed to the back. Jack’s commanding presence blew just about everyone else on the show away. Jack has cut many great promos in the building, and this was as good as any of them. His imagery was powerful, the message was focused and there was nothing of the unfortunate excesses that have marred much of his past work.
(1) Veterano IV beat Todd Sexton in 5:43. Sexton’s did prematch mic work saying he was going to sexecute the jumping bean. I felt sorry for him. Talk about a tough act to follow. Plenty of so-so action but they lost the crowd. Sexton did get a pop for a stiff kick the face. IV got the pin with a springboard into a small package. Postmatch: Sexton went after the mask a bit and IV then tackled him on the ramp. (2) Entourage (Andrew Alexander & Mike Mosely with Jay Clinton & Mercedes Moseley) beat J-Rod & BJ Hancock in 6:49. The debuted J-Rod is arguably the hottest babyface wrestler in the state of Georgia and a very hard worker, but you would have never known it from the reaction he got here. Alexander used one of his trademark hotshot moves to start heat on J-Rod. On the comeback J-Rod speared the post. Alexander nailed him with rude slice ‘n dice face stomp off the middle rope. Mosely hit his finisher and Alexander followed with a piledriver for the pin on Hancock.
Postmatch: Alexander had both good and bad news for Clinton. I’m not sure where the good news in this was, but Mercedes would be accompanying only Clinton to the ring AND he was being moved out of the Young Lion’s Division for a series of tests starting with…
(3) Mikal Judas pinned Jay Clinton (with Mercedes Moseley) in 2:36. Judas just glared at Clinton, who finally got up enough guts to do his Memphis strut. Judas launched Clinton with El Crucifijo, halfway across the ring easy. Crowd popped huge and begged for another one. Judas gave it to them. One of the highlights of the evening.
(4) Wild Bunch (Billy Buck & Chris King) beat Youth Gone Wild (Anthony Henry & Dustin Knight) in 5:12. It was babyface vs. babyface, which rarely works in Cornelia, and it sure wasn’t going to on this night. Match was moves that nobody cared about. Wild Bunch accidentally dropped Knight on a flying bodypress and had to pick him up so Henry could knock them down with a missile dropkick to his partner’s back. Sometimes it’s best to deviate when plans go awry. There was a funny spot where Henry came off the ropes and Buck caught him with a bionic armpit. Buck pinned Henry after the (King) Russian legsweep/(Buck) superkick combo. A postmatch display of sportsmanship got a lukewarm response.
(5) Skirra Corvus beat Malachi to win the NWA Anarchy Young Lion’s Championship in 7:07. Malachi got off to a fast start but a missed springboard move was his downfall. It became a showcase for Corvus’ unique offense. With his height, Corvus flew across ¾ of the ring on a springboard splash and made it look easy. I’m waiting for him to bust out the coast-to-coast version. But frustration was setting in when Corvus was unable to secure the pin. Malachi made the comeback with a pair of german suplexes. He released on the second one and went up for the diving headbutt. It missed. Corvus curbstomped Malachi and pinned him clean. Another impressive performance by Corvus and the right time to put the belt on him.
Postmatch: Corvus put the Young Lion’s medallion around his neck and was about to celebrate with a second curbstomp when Hayden Young hit the ring for the save, so it looks like Young will be the first challenger. Young was another guy that got surprisingly little reaction.
(6) Jeremy Vain beat Bo Newsome to retain the NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Championship in 10:11. Newsome was hitting all kinds of moves early. At 3:00, Vain dropped Newsome to his knees and hit a ropes assisted Shining Wizard. That move is a keeper. Vain slowed things down and did basic heel stuff using facial expressions. It stood out, because he was the first one to go that route. Still didn’t get much heat, because there wasn’t much in way of babyface fire from Newsome, who the fans never saw as having a legit shot at winning. Vain tried to dump Newsome, but he hung on the apron and came off the top. Vain moved but Newsome landed on his feet and hit his signature dropkick. Newsome went up to again. Vain crotched him and hit a draping DDT for the pin.
Vain called himself The People’s Champion and ran down the list of people he had beaten including Shadow Jackson in less than 5 minutes at Hostile Environment. Said he did it alone, which of course, he did not. That brought Jackson out. He pointed at Vain ala Hogan and had the crowd totally with him. Vain dropped the belt and backed off. Jackson gave the belt no mind. He was focused on Vain. Jackson got a couple of blows in before he was speared by “The Wrestling Hybrid†Orion Bishop. Bishop handed Vain his belt. Vain formally introduced Bishop as the upgrade bodyguard replacement for Rob Adonis.
End of hour number one.
(7) Seth Delay & Brodie Chase & Mike Posey beat Kareem Abdul Jamar & Corey Hollis & Alejandro in 6:22. Some hilarious mic work by the heels ripping on Slim J. Chase sarcastically apologized for ending J’s career. Chase said J might have Tourette’s body for life. Delay introduced Posey doing a Slim J impersonation. Well done and very funny. Delay said with J gone, there would be no more free bandanas, but it was the way he said it. Jamar tried to manipulate the fans into cheering for his team. The heels beat the hell out of Hollis. Chase pinned Alejandro with a Thunder Fire Powerbomb.
Postmatch: Old “Hands of Steel†Delay was going to clock Hollis with the brass knucks, but Newsome made the save with a steel chair. Despite the wicked beating Hollis took and the devastating finisher on Alejandro, neither one sold a lick as they were leaving.
(8) Melissa Coates beat Krissy Vaine in 6:32. Coates got one of the best pops of the night. It was all downhill from there. To say they didn’t mesh well would be putting it mildly. They traded kicks in the ass. Coates did an impressive torture rack, but she sat down on Vaine’s DDT, and what a mess that was. Coates won it with a standing version of the Facelift (inverted suplex slam).
(9) Rowdy Friends (Don Matthews & Jessco Blue) decimated Aaron Lee & Antoine Jordan in 3:25. Lee’s jobber jacket was awesome. Equally awesome was Lee bobbing his head as Blue wound up for a haymaker. Matthews lit Lee up and took Jordan’s head off with The Lariat. A good squash. The crowd liked it as much as they were going to like anything.
Postmatch: Hate Junkies (Dany Only & Stryknyne) attacked Friends and left them laying.
(10) JT Talent (with Drew Pendleton III) beat Derrick Driver in 11:16. Talent said New Wave was the only team in the locker room deserving of facing the champions, but Steven Walters was a no show, so Driver could dip or take a beating. Driver said he would take on either one of them. From the get go, Driver was fighting the numbers game. Driver completely overshot a corkscrew dive. Nothing to break his fall but he was OK. Referee Ken Wallace threw Pendleton out for interfering. Driver countered Talent’s finisher with a crucifix bomb. Talent hit his elevated full nelson face plant. Talent missed with a Tumbleweed. Driver caught Talent midair with a double knee. Lots of big moves and almost zero crowd response. Entourage tried to interfere. Driver cut them off with a double dropkick. Pendelton came back to distract the ref, while Carnage (son of Stone Mountain) hit the choke bomb on Driver. Talent got the pin with the Standing Ovation. It was the right finish in the sense massive interference was required to beat Driver. Entourage and Talent & Money engaged in a little postmatch staring contest.
Attorney/Agent Jeff G. Bailey entered the ring with Shaun Tempers and Phil Shatter. Bailey complained about what Palmer did to “young Dan Wilson†at Hostile Environment –attacked him for no reason like a savage, feral dog, like pro wrestling’s answer to 9/11, made him bleed (that got a pop) and sent him to the hospital. Bailey claimed Wilson was in a wheelchair with a dislocated hip. Bailey then claimed that Tempers never quit in the War Games. What the ref actually heard with Ace Rockwell shouting, “Why won’t you quit?†Tempers said Rockwell didn’t deserve a shot at his TV title. He said Rockwell was a punch drunk moron, while he was a world class scientific wrestler. Tempers said Rockwell could have title match at Fright Night and name his own stipulation, IF he could beat Tempers in a match where either man would be DQed for throwing a punch. Rockwell came out to almost no pop. It was a bizarro world moment. Coates got a louder pop than one of Anarchy’s biggest stars. Rockwell said all Tempers had to do was ask.
(11) Iceberg beat National Heavyweight Champion Phil Shatter (with Jeff G. Bailey) via DQ in 11:53. This match had some heat. Fans are into Iceberg as a baby, and they told a simple story. In the opening minute, the 400 pound Iceberg ran the ropes (was that ever a sight to behold) and blasted Shatter with a shoulder block. It was all Iceberg until he missed with a charging knee, and Shatter gave him a leg DDT over the ropes. The body of the match saw Shatter work over Iceberg’s knee like a man possessed. Iceberg made Shatter miss with a big move and started landing heavy blows. Shatter’s shoulder block bounced off Iceberg. Iceberg paused before hitting the Thigh Drop of Doom for a near fall. Shatter came back with a corner spear and tried for the 10 punches. Iceberg powerbombed him, and Tempers hit the ring for the DQ. Truitt Fields made the save.
NOTES: Jack addressed the Anarchy locker room prior to the show. It was said to have been quite a speech, even better than the promo he cut in the ring…Next TV taping is October 3. Fright Night will be October 31, Halloween night.
