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LAST WEEK…A lone Wolfie D faced the onslaught of Derrick King Enterprises, until he agreed to team up with Vordell Walker. Wolfie got a measure of revenge with a hubcap to the dome of Drew Haskins to win the main event…Commissioner Freddie Morton suspended Kid Kash for thirty days…With Kash out of the picture, SAW International Champion Chase Stevens offered Arrick Andrews a title shot for this week.
Steve Hall previewed the upcoming hour set to take place in front of a packed house at Buffalo Billiards. He fibbed about the packed part.
Commercial break - Big time SAW wrestling comes to the Gallatin Civic Center on July 24. Marc Anthony vs. Arrick “The Dragon†Andrews plus SAW International Champion Chase Stevens, Derrick King, Jesse Emerson, Drew Haskins and the debut of NWA National Champion “Universal Soldier†Phil Shatter. Bell time is 7pm. Tickets available at the Civic Center box office.
1 – DERRICK KING (with Drew Haskins & Sista O’Feelyah & Half Dolla) vs. JESSE EMERSON
Emerson got the better of the chain wrestling and blasted King with a shoulder tackle. King rolled out to regroup. Back inside, Emerson made a rapid fire series of pin attempts. (commercial break) Emerson refused King’s handshake and teed off on him, but King neatly countered a lariat with a hangman neckbreaker. He tossed Emerson out so Haskins could do a number on him. Reno said Haskins had become an absolute animal under the King’s tutelage. King made a lazy cover. Emerson surprised King with an Olympic bridge for two. King cut him off and O’Feelyah choked Emerson over the bottom rope. Riggins said he heard Chaka Khan got lippy with O’Feelyah while she was in town for CMA fest. Emerson made a full-fledged comeback capped off by a big bulldog. Haskins grabbed Emerson’s leg at the count of two. With Haskins providing the distraction, King nailed Emerson with O’Feelyah’s purse to score the pinfall.
WINNER: King in 6:13. A solid TV opener. Not a bad loss for Emerson, because King’s sold generously and it took the usual dose of DKE interference to beat him. Hall was with King and the rest of DKE. It opened with a shot of SAW’s hip hop mini, Half Dolla. King said Emerson had come up a just a little too short. King said he was talking with his friend, Barack about the thing with BP. King said they were going to boycott Wolfie and beat him 1-2-3 next week.
Wolfie, you are a common thug, and we don’t deal with thugs very well…you are looking at the new tag team champions and there’s nothin’ nobody can do about it.
Hall plugged Slamboree 2010 in Gallatin on July 24. He said it would be quite a story if Andrews came into his hometown as the SAW champion.
2 – RYAN GENESIS vs. JP MAGNUM
Magnum slapped Genesis on the break. Masters said Genesis outsized Magnum. Reno said (correctly) that Magnum had a significant weight advantage. Genesis was rocking Magnum with impact moves, until Magnum moved out of the path of his Stinger splash. Magnum took over playing cocky heel. He got three near falls without bothering to hook the leg and the announce team was all over it. Genesis delivered two clotheslines with authority and planted Magnum with a DDT. Magnum kicked out of that. Genesis then hit a TKO for the pin with Magnum taking the bump on his hip. Reno called it a Samoan Drop.
WINNER: Genesis in 2:55. Best Genesis has looked in SAW. His offense had more zip. An established heel like King can get away with arrogant covers, but Magnum is an unknown guy with an 0-1 record, so it just looked dumb.
Genesis was with Hall. Genesis described himself as a fire breathing SOB looking for a challenge anywhere he could get it. Genesis said after being jumped by Picture Perfect any time (a clip was flown in showing Christian Jacobs spearing Genesis to give Jon Michael Worthington the win). Genesis said his mission was to climb the ladder all the way to the top. Good promo.
Kendra introduced Matt Joslyn as the Grumpy’s Bail Bonds Agent of the Week.
Hall plugged the article on SAW in Pro Wrestling Illustrated (on your newsstands now!) and cut to updates on Hammerjack.
Dr. John Darden, an alleged ENT from American Medical Council, said Hammerjack had suffered a hyperextened hyoid bone from a blow to the throat, and it was indeed, a very serious situation. Darden said that type of injury made it difficult to eat, drink or speak. Darden said that at this time, a return to pro wrestling presented a life threatening situation for Hammerjack. Darden said he would return with another update and had been put on retainer to treat injuries sustained by other SAW wrestlers.
Hall read a written statement from Hammerjack’s wife, Ellen England. She thanked the fans for their support and said that Hammerjack needed them now more than ever. She went on to say that Hammerjack’s family and health had to come first and he had no immediate plans to return to the ring, but when he did, the fans would be the first to know.
Hall extended SAW’s thoughts and prayers to Hammerjack and his family.
Marc Anthony was seated in a sanctuary of some type wearing a sleeveless Metallica t-shirt.
They say the greatest day in any man’s life, is the day he gets married and the birth of his child. Hammerjack, oh Hammjerack, next week I will take you back. Those special days will be tainted. I promise you that.
Grumpy’s Bail Jumper of the Week - Agent Hope Redden introduced this week’s public enemy number one, Nikia Lee Provenzano, and did this chick ever look like trouble.
A video piece on Arrick Andrews opened with a shot of the VFW in Gallatin where Andrews started wrestling 8 years ago. It dissolved to a shot of the Gallatin Civic Center where he will appear for SAW on July 24. They cut to clips of various members of the Andrews clan expressing their hopes that he would bring the SAW title home to Gallatin.
3 – SAW International Title Match: Champion CHASE STEVENS vs. ARRICK ANDREWS
They opened exchanging words and then mild shoves. Returning from an early commercial break, it had broken into a major slugfest. They were rocking each other for back and forth near falls in the opening minutes. Very little wrestling, as it was mostly lariats and punches. Riggins sent a shout out to his former tag partner Barry Horowitz watching in Tampa. Crowd was silent. Riggins said it was like a Japanese crowd, studying the bout as if it were a chess match. Wishful thinking I’m afraid. Stevens took command, reeling off a series of near falls with high impact moves. Riggins said this match could headline any PPV in the country. “It’s a shame corporate wrestling companies cannot open up their eyes and see true wrestling talent like this.†Andrews landed some big shots that spilled Stevens out to the floor. Andrews followed him out, and Stevens responded with a snap suplex on the floor that did damage to both men. Stevens shushed the crowd before smacking Andrews on the back. Back inside, Andrews reversed Stevens’ finisher with a DDT. Both down again. Andrews made a crawling cover at the count of six. Andrews made a painfully s-l-o-w climb to the top and ate double raised boots to the chin. (commercial break) Stevens did a major crash and burn when Andrews rolled out from under his moonsault. Both men used the ropes to struggle to their feet. Stevens staggered around the ring absorbing punches from Andrews. Stevens hit a Codebreaker and both men were down again. Stevens kipped up and went on offense. With his gas tank nearing E, Andrews hit his spinning bulldog for a close near fall. Andrews went up top for a frogsplash, but Stevens kicked out again. Andrews clutched his head wearing the “what do I need to do to beat this guy?†expression. Stevens ducked Andrews’ first try at the Dragon’s Curse but the second go round connected. Stevens kicked out again. Andrews looked exhausted. Andrews went for the Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am and Stevens countered with his reverse DVD to get the three count.
WINNER: Stevens retained the SAW International Championship in 15:15. They worked their asses off, a real war, but you would have never known it from the crowd reaction. They were selling bigtime, but the drama was sucked out of it, except for what the commentators could provide. Maybe the best Andrews match I’ve seen. It was a loss that in no way hurt his standing.
Reno said Andrews had “nothing to head his hang aboutâ€. Stevens helped Andrews to his feet and raised his hand.
AFTERTHOUGHTS: A good show in so far as match quality and storyline progression. The main event was the best match on SAW TV since April (the cage match between Andy Douglas and Stevens from the Fairgrounds). The Andrews video added a dimension of emotional connection - would Andrews bring the SAW title home to Gallatin? He won’t be. But Andrews came out of this in a stronger position to face Anthony despite losing. The problem was the crowd. The room was far from packed and the people that were there looked and sounded disinterested. What a crappy atmosphere for two guys making all out effort in a title match no less. It reminded me of the SAW Mill days when Reno made the crack about the fans needing Nodoz. As bad as the SAW Mill crowds were at times, there were always some hardcore fans present. These folks were casual fans, and I suspect there were burned out from a day of partying by the time this match went into the ring… The performance by Genesis was a bright spot on this show. It was the first time he came across as a pushable commodity…The Hammerjack health update kept that story front and center. The brief Anthony vignette provided a sinister contrast to all that babyface sympathy. The segment with Dr. Darden was a throwback. They did a lot more of those doctor reports back in the days when people still believed. This deal, however, was not at all believable, hopefully as an intentional inside joke. Darden made a point of mentioning the American Medical Council, which is about as real as Cedar Ridge, Indiana, where DKE supposedly beat up JC Ice. And how the hell is it possible to hyperextend a bone? An average sports fans would know that hyperextensions are joint injuries. The statement from Hammerjack’s wife was the more effective of the two...Reno was on a roll on commentary - Chaka Khan? Stevens/Andrews a PPV headliner? There was some funny by play with Masters, who had a few glitches but recovered well. The mention of the PWI article can't hurt...They are hyping the hell out of Gallatin beyond anything they did for the Fairgrounds shows...Thumbs ups episode for content but a major thumbs down for the crowd at Buffalo Billiards.
