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The vibe at the RPW Arena has never been better. The heat for the strap match between top heel Jimmy Rave and beloved babyface Kyle Matthews was levels beyond anything I’ve experienced at that venue. By RPW standards, it was a long show, but it flowed beautifully. There were no clunker segments, and the crowd was heavily into almost everything that took place all night.
The situation has reached the point where RPW is reaping the benefits of the reeducation process that started when Rave took over the book last summer. The rule of thumb at RPW is when in doubt, grab a hold. The fans expect and fully accept that matches will generally be slower paced with more wrestling. Consequently, the high spots have more impact. One of the keys, and this was consistently the case last night, is that the RPW roster has the skill set to make the basic wrestling approach interesting and believable. The less skilled members of the roster generally get limited exposure that shows them in the best light. Rave’s “shock and awe†booking approach does have important elements of the southern style. The angles make sense and they ring true at a gut level, and there are always surprises. My sense is that the fans now come ready to suspend disbelief, and it takes a major misstep to sour them.
The show drew 175, an impressive total, since it roughly equaled attendance of the previous week for “Reloadedâ€, RPW’s first big event of 2011.
(1) Chip Day (with Jimmy Rave) beat Sugar Dunkerton in 5:46. Day was in for some Sugar style humiliation at the outset. Fans chanted “strawberry shortcake†at Day, and Dunkerton worked it into his act. Sugar busted out the Fro butts, then a suplex combo. Out of nowhere, Day pinned Dunkerton after a roundhouse kick to the temple. There might have been shenanigans by Rave that I missed. Crowd applauded Dunkerton for his efforts. It’s plain to see why Dunkerton’s star is rising on the independent scene. He’s had the entertainment aspect down for a while, but it’s the crispness and variety he’s added to his inring that is making the big difference of late.
(2) Bobby Moore (with Charlie Cash) beat Leon McMichaels in 5:44. They had a pretty competitive match. Moore was on the receiving end of a “Barney†chant. McMichaels’ flapjack looked lousy, but Moore got things back on track with a stiff lariat. McMichaels slipped off the ropes in way that didn’t look like an intentional bump McMichaels got a near fall with a climbing knee (that’s Jeremy Vain’s VKO!) into a running bulldog. Moore won it with his signature running kick in the head.
Afterward, Anthony Andrews laid McMichaels out again and lied about being 1-0 (after beating Blain Rage last week). Chris Jacobs silenced his obnoxious ass with a superkick. Jacobs got an amazing pop for a guy that hasn’t wrestled a match in eons. Jacobs is local guy that was trained through RPW a couple of years back, but he’s maintained a presence at the live events in the meantime.
J-Rod, the new RPW Heavyweight Champion, came out and cut a rapid fire rah-rah babyface promo. Great stuff. He was hitting all the right notes with the people. Jimmy Rave came out with Corey Hollis. Rave hate abounds. Rave said J-Rod was an undeserving coward. Rave said he won the TV title in 2 minutes, while it took J-Rod two years to win the heavyweight title. Rave said his “wrestling machine†Hollis could wipe the mat with him. J-Rod said let’s do it, then apologized for not parting with 5 bucks for a Rave Approved shirt, adding that it was just like Rave to ask another man to take care of his business.
(3) J-Rod beat Corey Hollis (with Jimmy Rave) to retain the RPW Heavyweight Title in 8:02. Early on, Rave took a shot at J-Rod. Referee Dustin Robinson caught it and tossed him out. The psychology of this match was flawless. Hollis went after J-Rod’s bum knee, doing major damage with a single leg crab. J-Rod’s leg started to give way during his comeback. He fought through it but Hollis seized on the weak moment. J-Rod, however, managed to duck a missile dropkick and pin Hollis with an Oklahoma Roll.
Bull Buchanan came out and picked up the title belt. He handed it back to J-Rod (still selling the knee), making it crystal clear that the title would be his. In my mind, this was the best segment involving J-Rod in quite some time. My doubts about him as champion were erased.
Murder One entered the ring without AJ Steele. Uno said Steele had the night off due to a shoulder injury, but he still wanted, NEEDED a victim to beat up. The fans were totally down with his request. Bobby Moore answered the call accompanied by Charlie Cash and a muscular masked man known as The Judge. As soon as Uno started beating on Moore, he was jumped by Hate Junkies (Dany Only & Strykynyn). Only nailed Murder with a fireball to the face. It was on target to where it got an audible reaction from the crowd. The babyfaces came out to make the save, led by RPW Owner Doctor Johnny Gayton toting a steel chair. Murder went out with a towel covering his face.
(4) Bull Buchanan beat Adrian Hawkins in 6:12. Loud and very mixed reaction to Buchanan, who is a giant compared to the most of the RPW roster. Hawkins tried for a suplex. No chance. He switched to the knee, and Bull sold it just right. The damage was registering but he wasn’t going down. Buchanan moved the battle to his playground – the ringside area, where he gave Hawkins a whale of a beating. Talk about believable offense. Whoa. Back inside, Bull hit a snap slam that Samoa Joe could admire. Hawkins showed great fire on his comeback. The springboard back elbow finally put Buchanan down. Merely a wake up call, though. Buchanan took his head off with a lariat and that was that.
(5) Hot Like Lava (Cru Jones & Shaun Banks) beat Marvelous Michael Stevens & Drew Adler in 15:52. To me, this was least compelling segment of the night. The match was decent enough, but it feels like Hot Like Lava is stuck in a rut and needs revitalization of some sort. Prematch, the ever playful Lava boys made gratuitous physical contact with ring announce Allie. Do my eyes deceive me, or has Adler actually added a degree of muscle mass to that painfully thin upper body? Banks draped Adler across the middle rope, laying him wide open for Jones to knee drop him from the apron. Lava did an expert job of isolating Adler in their half of the ring. Banks accidentally nutted Cru, which allowed Stevens to tag in. His brief rally ended with a crash and burn moosault. The crowd lost steam for a bit because they expected Lava to finish it. Lava got heat on Stevens instead. Off the hot tag, Adler was all high knees and boots, a great way to showcase his best assets. Lava had another miscue. Stevens and Adler did an atomic drop sequence on Banks, but rather than going for the pin, they strutted. Lava capitalized on their abject stupidity with a tandem necktie drop on Adler, and Banks scored the pinfall.
(6) Mike Posey (with Jimmy Rave) beat Frankie Valentine in 9:52. Rave Approved is instant heat, and the fans respond to Valentine, although he hasn’t been pushed since his return. Posey has ridiculously massive deltoids for a guy his size. It was the night for atomic drops and we got yet another variation. Valentine slid a knee under Posey’s blind leapfrog attempt. Very slick execution there. Posey pumphandled Valentine’s arm across the top rope to take over. The body of the mach saw Posey bust out a dazzling array of armlocks. Valentine made the one-armed comeback. They traded near falls. Rave then ran distraction, which allowed Posey to slip in a low blow and pin Valentine. Nice match. Not the best timing on the finish though, as referee Dustin Robinson was looking right at the low blow.
(7) Jeremy Vain retained the RPW TV Title going to a 10 minute time limit draw with Mr. Jones. I think this was the best singles match I’ve ever seen involving Jones. Vain is such an awesome coward. For his part, Jones did a great job projecting confidence. He said he was going to fold up the paper champion, and the people reacted like they believed it was going to happen. Vain bumped like he shot from a cannon. He got so flustered that he tripped on the ropes and fell on his face. Jones turned Vain’s VKO attempt into a sitout choke bomb, but Vain escaped from his tidal wave splash. Vain did a number on the big man’s knee, then jumped on his back with a sleeper. Jones shrugged it off but didn’t have full power on his corner splash. Jones went Hogan on him with the big boot followed by the leg drop. No hook of the leg, and Vain kicked out. The time limit expired right at 10 minutes legit. There was a mild chant for five more minutes.
Postmatch, Cash’s crew launched a three-on-one attack on Jones. The Judge put him in the claw hold. Doc Gayton lead the charge on the save again. Gayton told Cash he was sick of his band of freaks. “It won’t be over until it’s you and me.â€
Commissioner Sal Rinauro drew 10 winning ticket numbers for the fan participation lumbjerjack strap match – five guys, four kids and one woman. He told them Rave’s precious face was off limits. Rinauro added that there would be an 11th lumberjack --- Sal Rinauro.
(8) The fan participation lumberjack strap match between Jimmy Rave and Kyle Matthews ended as a no contest when Rave left the building at around the 16 minute mark. Beginning to end, the heat for this was unreal. Sound generally doesn’t carry well in the RPW Arena, but this was as loud as I’ve ever heard it. The story between Rave and Matthews has built to where Matthews is incredibly over and Rave has nuclear heat. They did the deal where Rave threw Matthews out and the lumberjack wouldn’t touch him. Adding Rinauro was a stroke of booking genius, because the fans lumberjacks picked up on all of his cues. Rave was content to allow Matthews to control him on the mat. Fans were pleading with Matthew to throw him out. He did. The fans went after him. Rave covered up on the floor. Matthews joined in. Rave got back in with one of the straps and started to use it, but Robinson took it away. The fans got more aggressive the second time Rave was tossed out. When Rave escaped to the inside, the lumberjack surrounded the ring pounding and whipping the mat. This should look great on TV. Matthews stepped up the intensity of his offense. After a superkick, Rave was sent out again, and the lumberjacks really let him have it. Rave ended up with nasty red welts all over his back. Back inside, Rave hit a superplex. Matthews got his octopus submission and the crowd was on their feet chanting for the tap out. Rave escaped (don’t remember how) and when Matthews missed a missile dropkick, Rave headed for the hills with the fans whipping at him on his way out.
Rinauro and then Matthews followed Rave to the back. Fans erupted with a chant of “bring him backâ€. Bill Behrens abandoned the announce booth and went running back there as well. It created a nice moment of suspense and confusion. Matthews came back to the ring and said something about Rave getting in a car and demanded that Rave get back out there. Tough to do if he’s left the building, but hey, it was an emotional moment. Rinauro confirmed that Rave’s boys were waiting in a car and had drive off with him. Rinauro guaranteed that if Matthews didn’t get his hands on Rave on February 19, Rave would be fired. The fans popped for the announcement; when in actuality, that's the last thing they want.
NOTES: The key match already set for February 19 is 25+ person Mega-Rumble to determine #1 contender to J Rod's Heavyweight title that will be a full hour of TV…Due to the fact RPW taped two hours of TV at “Reloadedâ€, the scheduled air dates for new episodes will be moved back, so the Hot Like Lava vs. Adler & Stevens will be the main for the episode that airs on February 19 and the strap match will be the main for February 26…Dunkerton’s will likely be limited to irregular appearances for RPW to due increased demands for his services on the indie circuit… Steele had the night off…Konkrete Gorillaz (Jay Fury & Nemesis) missed the taping due to transportation problems…Rave is also booking Pro South Wrestling, a promotion that runs weekly Friday night events in Piedmont, Al. The episode of RPW that aired in Macon on February 5 had footage of Rave Approved attacking Matthews at a PSW show...Speaking of Matthews, there was an impressive demand for his autograph from the RPW fans following the show. It was great thing to see him being treated like a star…The memorial show for Matthews’ mentor, Ted Allen will be held on February 12 at the Bay Springs Middle School in Villa Rica, Ga with a 6:30pm bell time. The list of legends appearing includes Ted Oates, Joyce Grable, Charlie Smith, Ben Masters, Jimmy Powell, Nightmare # 2, Bobby Simmons, Randy Rose, Pat Rose, Keith Steinborn, Mr. Olympia, Brad Armstrong, Doug Somers, Hugh Morrus/Bill De Mott, Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker, Cowboy Bob Kelly, Mr. Donnie and Shadow from the Harley Davidson Crew, Greg Brown, George South and more…Rave was our featured guest on the January 31 edition of “Phoning It Inâ€, which is available for download at www.blogtalkradio.com/psp...An interesting side note was that Johnny G’s Fun Center was more packed with people playing the games and what not than I’ve ever seen it on a Saturday night (the RPW Arena was carved out of a section of the Fun Center).
