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Rampage Pro Wrestling taped 2+ hours of TV at Johnny G’s Fun Center in Warner Robins Saturday night featuring Dark City Fight Club defending the NWA World Tag Team Championship against the RPW champions, the Usual Suspects. The Suspects battled the champions to a TV time limit draw in one of the most satisfying championship matches I’ve seen this year.
The gradual, consistent development of storylines employed since Jimmy Rave and company took over the booking this summer has paid off. It took time, but it was time worth taking, as the crowds have gotten progressively hotter in recent months. The promotion has cultivated a hardcore following that appreciates good stories and quality wrestling. With that said, it’s disturbing when a promotion is putting out a product as good as RPW and only draws 110. Another sign of the times, I guess.
The first hour of TV, featuring the DCFC title defense, was terrific stuff from beginning to end. The second hour was good, but not at the level of the first one, although Mike Posey’s out-of-the-blue turn got a ton of heat, as did the antics of Konkrete Gorillaz.
The tag team titles have emerged as the most hotly contested and highly regarded prize in RPW. The reign of Usual Suspects had already elevated the titles, and their match last night with the NWA World Champions just gave them another boost. Given the outcome and quality of the match, the Suspects should be prime contenders for the NWA titles. Of course, it would help if RPW was an NWA affiliate.
The first two matches were taped for the 30 minute Rewind show:
(1) Mike Posey beat “Adorable” Anthony Andrews and Bobby Moore in a triple threat match pinning Andrews with a guillotine legdrop at 4:09. Posey was more over than a month ago. JT Smooth came out on the ramp to scout. Not the usual breakdown of cooperation between the heels. They didn’t get along to begin with. Moore made Andrews his bitch. Posey did his slingshot dropkick with Moore and Andrews hung nut to butt in a double tree of woe. Moore hit a chokebreaker on Andrews. Posey tossed him out and got the pin on Andrews.
Moore kicked Andrews’ face in after the match.
<B>(2) Wild Aces (Ace Haven & Scott Spade) beat Brandon Collum & Johnny Viper in 5:24. The crowd had an immediate negative reaction when these guys came out, because they looked like four skinny kids pretending to be pro wrestlers. Have to give them credit, though, because they were halfway able to win the crowd over because they worked so hard. Aces were the faces. Spade did the Hotstuff Hernandez suicide dive, then Haven pinned Viper after Ace delivered stereo kicks to Viper’s head.
For RPW TV airing December 11 in Macon, GA on MY41.2.
(3) Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) squashed Wild Aces (Ace Haven & Scott Spade) in 7:16. One look at DCFC, and the crowd knew the Aces were in for a severe beating, and it was all that and more. Aces tried to fly. Chavis made Spade into a human javelin and tossed him into the wall. They destroyed Haven with a slice ‘n dice variation. Fans chanted “fresh meat”. It got so bad that fans were telling Haven it was OK if he tapped out. Chavis made Spade crash and burn on the suicide dive he hit in the earlier match. Chavis hit the Dark City Bomb on Haven and Spade made the save. DCFC decimated Spade with a hi-lo number. Davis pinned Spade after the DCFC trademark powerbomb/neckbreaker combo.
Afterwards, DCFC asked the logical question – “Is this it?” That brought Charlie Cash out with Smooth. Cash offered DCFC a shot at the number one contenders, Killer Instinct. DCFC only wanted to fight champions. Enter Usual Suspects. Assistant Commissioner Michael Stevens and Assistant-to-the-Assistant Drew Adler appeared on the ramp. Stevens said Commissioner (former? – see notes) Sal Rinauro couldn’t be there, so they were making the match – DCFC defending the titles with Cash and his guys banned from ringside. The RPW fans could not have cared less that an RPW official was making an NWA title match. DCFC and Usual Suspects shook hands, but did so in a way that you knew this was going to be a war.
(4) Adrian Hawkins & “Marvelous” Michael Stevens & Drew Adler beat Rave Approved (Corey Hollis & Chip Day with Jimmy Rave) & RPW TV Champion Jeremy Vain when Hawkins pinned Vain at 9:15. Hawkins made it clear he was coming for Vain. Stevens got a chance to shine. He also ended up taking the heat. Rave grabbed Stevens leg and Hollis pinned him using the tights. Mike Posey came out in his referee shirt and stooged off Rave’s interference. Dustin Robinson threw Rave out and called for a restart. Adler popped the crowd with his hilo dive. A round of big moves and saves led to Hawkins pinning Vain with the Unprettier. This worked two fold. Hawkins got a pin on the champion and it planted the idea that Posey was all about fairness.
5) NWA World Tag Team Title Match: Champions Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis vs. Usual Suspects (Murder One & AJ Steele) went to a TV time limit draw (21:11). They did a tremendous job of telling a story in the ring. The crowd favored Suspects for obvious reasons, but they weren’t really against DCFC, who wrestled a tough, physical style without using cheap heel tactics. Former Blackout partners, Chavis and Murder did a classic test of strength. Murder broke out the armdrag, as promised last week on “Phoning It In” (www.blogtalkradio.com/psp). Steele and Davis swapped wicked chops. It was even up, but Suspects got the best at the end of each exchange. Tempers flared. DCFC took the first shortcut. Murder answered with a mudhole stomping that would have put Stone Cold to shame. It blows my mind to hear the fans chanting for Murder. Suspects worked on Davis’ neck. In turn, DCFC worked over Steele’s neck. Murder got the tag and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb on Davis for a close near fall. Davis came back with the exploder suplex. Steele hit his trapped arms belly to belly suplex for a near fall on Chavis. Suspects had Davis finished with the Dark City Slam when Moore and Cash came out to distract. In the ensuing commotion, DCFC leveled Murder with a leg lariat Hart Attack. Steele made the save as TV time expired. This was a great match worked in true championship style.
DCFC said that was the kind of competition they were talking about. A “five more minutes” chant broke out. A rematch (date TBA) was announced – no time limit – there must be a winner. The two teams raised each other’s hands. The crowd stood and applauded all four men.
For RPW TV airing December 18.
(6) Konkrete Gorillaz (Jay Fury & Nemesis) beat Aaron Epic & Ninja #9 in 3:10. This will work better on TV than it did live, because it won’t follow one of the best RPW matches of the year. Gorillaz got a ton of heat. They brought the same fierce crowd baiting that worked so well for them at NWA Anarchy. Gorillaz beat the hell out of Epic. Fury busted out a corkscrew suplex/standing moonsault combo for a near fall. Ninja never got in the match. Fury pinned Epic after an Orton style backbreaker by Nemesis.
(7) Mr. Jones beat Blain Rage in 7:39. Rage is a muscled up angry little guy. He was greeted with a “tiny tot” chant. The size mismatch with the 400 pounds Jones was about as extreme as it can get. Jones brought a chair in for Rage to stand on. Match got off to a good start. Rage skinned the cat and Jones was waiting with a full nelson slam. Rage went on offense and it kind of went downhill. The crowd got impatient with how long it was taking Jones to beat him. Rage even got Jones up (well, sort of) for a front slam. Jones won it with a splash off the middle rope.
Postmatch, Moore blindsided Jones. Smooth and Cash joined in, and they all put the boots to him until Doc Gayton hit the ring wielding a chair.
(8) J-Rod beat Hot Like Lava (Cru Jones & Shaun Banks) via DQ in 10:35.J-Rod appeared without his mystery partner. Jones claimed he had already beaten J-Rod like yard dog, such that he should be doing the backstroke across the Rio Grande to Mexico. Jones said that since J-Rod couldn’t find anybody with the cojones to assume the position, it was going to be 2 on 1. J-Rod faked walking out then launched a surprise attack on the Lava boys. It was the typical scenario where the babyface comes out shot from guns, but the numbers game eventually wears him down. There was much confusion about which Hot Like Lava guy was legal. After excessive clowning around, J-Rod had Banks pinned, but Robinson said Jones was the legal man. Later, Banks entered with a top rope elbow, and J-Rod nailed him with the Superman knee for a near fall, while the fans yelled that Banks wasn’t legal. Jones decked Robinson for the DQ. When Lava tried to double up on J-Rod, he caused them to crash into each other. Not the most coherent of matches. It had to be rebooked due to J-Rod’s partner not being there and it showed.
(9) Jimmy Rave vs. Kyle Matthews with Mike Posey as the special ref was a 4 minute no contest. Good pop for Matthews. The Japanese style of fire is a good fit for him. Rave spent the entire match channeling Larry Zbyszko. (By happenstance, today is Zbyszko’s 57th birthday). When Matthews finally got his hands on Rave, Posey kicked him in the nuts. Posey ripped his ref shirt off revealing a “Rave Approved” t-shirt. The rest of Rave’s squad (including Vain) hit the ring. Rave put Matthews in a cobra clutch. Stevens and Adler tried to make a save to no avail. Hawkins hit the ring and was beaten down. Matthews and Hawkins were left laying. I like Posey much better as a heel, but I surely didn’t see this coming. There was no hint of a turn and in fact, it was done at the peak of his popularity at RPW, making him just that much more of a disappointment to the fans.
Ben Masters announced a 10 man elimination tag match for the holiday spectacular on December 18 - Rave Approved vs. Matthews & Hawkins & Adler & Stevens & the returning Frankie Valentine.
NOTES: An added stipulation for the 10 man elimination on December 18 is that the survivor(s) on the winning team earn the right to pick their dream match against the losers…J-Rod’s mystery partner had a booking conflict. Their tag match vs. Hot Like Lava will take place on December 187 as well… The crowd popped for the mention of Valentine, who the RPW fans remember as Matthews’ partner in Cash Vault…<a href=”http://www.rampageprowrestling.net” target=”new”>RampageProWrestling.net</a> has a video up showing Sal Rinauro resigning as commissioner and saying may he should go back to being a wrestler…There was an RPW presence in the 53rd Warner Robins Christmas Parade on the morning of the show. Gayton, Jones, Banks and Rave all rode in a convertible…The measuring stick at Johnny G’s Fun Center that determines if a kid meets the 56 inch height requirement to drive a go kart is a life-sized cardboard cutout of Gayton in a racing suit.
