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NWA Mid-America Television Champion Matt Boyce was out mixing with the crowd prior to the show. He had the title belt on his shoulder and carried himself like the quintessential Nashville babyface champion.
(1) Slaughter & Derrick Neal beat Phil Macchio & Richard Lowe in 5:33. Slaughter was several levels above the other guys in this sordid affair. Neal had his hair cut short since his appearance on SAW TV. Lowe is out of shape and doesn’t move well at all, and the repulsive quality of his heel persona just isn’t my cup of tea. Neal took the heat after a sneak knee from Lowe. Slaughter pinned Lowe with a Shawn Michaels top rope elbow. This match will likely not make the cut for TV.
(2) NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion Orion Bishop pinned Josh Hendrix in a non-title match at 2:04 Basic squash. Bishop did a cool move where he slammed Hendrix from a stalling vertical suplex position. Hendrix used his quickness to evade Bishop and staggered him a wee bit with a missile dropkick. Bishop immediately speared his ass for the pin.
(3) Will Owens & Damien Payne (with Dan O’Manly) beat White Tiger & Super Barney in 10:33. The pop for Tiger and Barney was completely insane. You would have thought two WWE superstars had just come through the curtain. It was one of those moments that make 413 Veritas Street such a unique place to watch pro wrestling. Barney’s cow spot cape is a fashion sensation. The match worked fine, largely due to Owens’ presence as the ring general. Barney appeared to tweak his knee on his first offensive move of the match. Crowd was absolutely on fire for Tiger’s offense. O’Manly interfered with a hotshot to turn the tide. He and Tiger weren’t in synch on that one. O’Manly choked Tiger over the rope with his cane. He looks like a real meanie the way he grimaces and clenches the cigar between his teeth. Payne botched a double team, but Owens had the presence of mind to deliver a back elbow to Tiger’s jaw. The heels resorted to the usual chicanery behind the back of referee Jesse Fields. Barney took the hot tag. Owens and Payne did a good job of feeding for him. Finish saw Owens bust the cane over Barney’s back, while O’Manley was distracting the Fields. Crowd was super pissed about it.
Owens and company tried to unmask Barney after the match. Tiger made the save with a chair.
Boyce came out to address the crowd. Boyce said he beat Tommy Mercer the last time he was there, and that was supposed to be Mercer’s final title shot, but he was still hearing that he couldn’t beat Mercer on his own. Boyce said there was no collusion between himself and Jeff Daniels. Boyce said that since Daniels wasn’t in the building tonight, he was going to give Mercer one more shot so there would be no excuses. Boyce is not the most eloquent speaker, but he’s confident without being cocky, and this was an effective promo.
(4) Chrisjen Hayme beat Corey Hollis in 7:33. They beat the crap out each other again en route to a really good match. Hollis lost the Tennessee Junior Championship to Kevin Dunn at an NWA Top Rope event since the last taping. Crowd was big with the “Corey†chants. When Hayme went to the rough stuff, Hollis had answers for him. Hayme is becoming a good heel despite his choir boy looks. I think that’s part of the appeal actually. Hayme escaped from the crossface and hit a twisting slingshot for a near fall. There was nice exchange where Hollis hit a dropsault in the corner and Hayme cut him off with a killer lariat. Hollis blocked Hayme’s finisher and got the crossface. Hayme hooked the ropes with his feet and started tapping. Thinking he had the match won, Hollis released the hold. Hayme capitalized with a devastating finisher – a pumphandle torture rack dropped into a piledriver. Great execution on the finish.
O’Manly hosted an installment of the O’Manly Moment along with his bodyguard, “party animal†Xavier. O’Manly started with an update on Mike Posey. He said he met Posey at the state line to give him the news that the alien was Rudy Charles under a mask. O’Manly promised to do a special sitdown interview with Charles. That should be most interesting. O’Manley claimed “Seven Figure Deal†Ace Rockwell cheated to win the Number of the Beast Challenge, and claimed he no-showed a match with Se7en last time because he was chicken. He said with all those sevens, he suspected there was some numerology going on and he would need to consult with Art Bell. Rockwell came out in a swank Terry Funk t-shirt. O’Manly addressed him as “Mr. Poultryâ€. Rockwell said no way he was afraid of Se7en. Xavier clubbed Rockwell from behind. O’Manly laughed about it. Rockwell started a comeback. That brought Se7en out to make it two on one. The two behemoths tried to make a Rockwell sandwich, but being a smart guy, Ace ducked out of the ring and a huge collision ensued. The Reverend said he believed with every breath in his demonic body that Rockwell couldn’t last 5 minutes with Se7en at the next taping. Rockwell thought about it and accepted the challenge. Good stuff.
(5) “No Mercy†Tommy Mercer defeated Matt Boyce to win the NWA Mid-America TV Championship in 16:38. Mercer got a pop. It’s not like the crowd was split. Some women can’t help themselves when it comes to a guy with that kind of a look. Boyce got the top star treatment. This was a WWE style match with solid fundamental wrestling. Mercer was feeling it after a knockdown shoulder block. Boyce forced Mercer to the ropes with a grounded headlock. Mercer cheated on the break, sparking a flurry from Boyce, and Mercer took a TO. The key spot saw Boyce try for a bulldog and Mercer shot him off crotch first into the turnbuckles. Mercer is developing an interesting move set. He was nailing Boyce with Muay Thai knees while applying a cravate, then turned it into a swinging neckbreaker. He also did a Russian legsweep into a grounded top wristlock. They went through a series of hope spots and cutoffs. Maybe a little longer than need be for this crowd. Mercer hit a superplex for a near fall. Boyce hit a swinging neckbreaker for the double down. Boyce’s comeback was lacking something. He needs a better sense of how to build them. Boyce came off the top, and Mercer met him with a kick. Mercer speared the post when Boyce moved. Boyce was pounding Mercer in the corner and wouldn’t let up. He shoved ref Jamie Ferrari a couple of times. As Ferrari was getting into it with Boyce, Mercer pulled a foreign object out his tights and clocked Boyce with it for the 1-2-3. Good match. Both guys sold well. It went a little too long. Mercer has come an awfully long way in only 18 months. He has superstar written all over him.
Notes: Jerry Jarrett was expected to be at the taping but he didn’t make it. Promoter Mike Porter was set to present Jarrett with the medallion associated with his induction into the NWA Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2009. It was a vintage year. The other inductees were Terry Funk, Gene Kiniski, Tully Blanchard, Paul Orndorff, Mil Mascaras and Dennis Coralluzzo. Porter plans to make the award presentation at a later date… Veteran Nashville wrestler Chris Michaels was visiting backstage. His resume includes stints with Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Music City Wrestling, OVW and SAW…Blackie West was in the house. He wanted fans to know how much he appreciates all the support he’s received. In recent years, West has had triple bypass surgery and replacement of his aorta. His body rejected the plastic used in the replacement surgery, resulting in leg infections so severe that West was told he would need both legs amputated. West credits the doctors at Vanderbilt with saving his legs. The infections are healed, and West is up and walking, although both of his legs are still heavily bandaged...Former NWA Main Event booker and announcer Jason James was also in attendance… Only one hour of television was taped. NWA Main Event is far enough ahead on production that it is a luxury they can afford….Color announcer Jeremy Arnold missed due to a family commitment, so Aaron Camaro worked solo…The debut of Seth Delay failed to materialize for the second taping in a row. Delay got trapped in the hell that is rush hour in Atlanta…Steve O and Adam Jacobs also missed the taping…David Pierce was on the handheld camera. Anni manned (womaned?) the hard cam in the absence of NWA Top Rope promoter Mike Sircy…Camaro gave a happy birthday shout out to photographer Tamela Jones…Super Barney (Chad Hyatt) tweaked the right knee on his first offensive move of his match. I didn’t get word on the seriousness of the injury…NWA ME is running a benefit show on June 12 at the Boys and Girls Club in Franklin, KY. The main event is Stevie King & Ty Blade vs. Lowe & Neal, with Michaels vs. Sigmon underneath. Tiger and Dyron Flynn are also on the card.. The house show talent and the TV taping talent are so different that it’s like two separate promotions…Steve-O is doing a fundraiser at Quizno’s on June 8 from 4-9pm. The proceeds from fans dining with O will go to fund the Music City Mission.
