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OVW Rise 1317 Recap
By Ethan Absler
Hot off the heels of two OVW specials last week in Halloween Hell Night and Reckoning, a rowdy pack of OVW fans filled the legendary HotPoint Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky for another installment of OVW Rise. In short, Revolution fared well over the last two shows, recruiting The Blockbusters who won the OVW Tag Team Championships in their debut match along with Mount Kadeem’s decisive title defense on Saturday.
Additionally, Freya The Slaya continues to barrel toward J-Rod after delivering the Champion her first OVW defeat before beating Arie Alexander last Saturday and EC3 retained his National Heavyweight Title in a Fatal 4-Way match. The title picture in each division is becoming more crowded by the minute and this week’s Rise promised big opportunities for the men and women looking to climb the figurative mountain.
So if you didn’t have time to watch the show, sit back, relax, and read everything you need to know about Rise 1317.
At a Glance
J-Rod (C) Vs. Crystal White
Star Rider (C) Vs. Brandon Barretta
The Blockbusters (C) Vs. Dysfunction
Tony Evans Vs. Will Austin
Dustin Jackson Vs. AJZ
Adam Revolver Vs. Erik Surge
Mount Kadeem (C) Vs. Jack Vaughn
Opening: Revolution Introduces Assistant General Manager
Many OVW fans may have been pleased to see Doug Basham open the show remotely from Florida via video call, but their dreams quickly turned into a nightmare as Basham introduced Revolution’s newest member, Miss Katie Gannon. She made her way to the ring, letting everyone know that her single job was to fulfill Basham’s vision for a Revolution-dominant OVW, and they were already well on their way.
Just then, Crystal White inserted herself into the conversation, making it known that she too has a longstanding problem with Revolution’s abuse of power. As a punishment, Miss Gannon forced White to face J-Rod immediately.
Match 1: J-Rod (C) Vs. Crystal White
Caught off guard before a referee was even in the ring, White suffered a devastating Spear at the hands of J-Rod who defeated her in extremely quick and dominant fashion.
Result: J-Rod (C) DEFEATS Crystal White
Match 2: Star Rider (C) Vs. Brandon Barretta
In the second match of the night, Star Rider looked to bounce back after coming up short against Super-Z at Reckoning. He and Barretta traded blows early on with an angry Star Rider gaining the eventual advantage. Through a barrage of Suplexes and Dropkicks, Beretta fought back until Star Rider hit a Superkick that put him away.
Result: Star Rider (C) DEFEATS Brandon Barretta
Match 3: The Blockbusters (C) Vs. Dysfunction
Just one week removed from their shocking debut Tag Team Championship win, The Blockbusters returned to the Davis Arena to prove it wasn’t just a fluke as they took on Dysfunction. Before the bell rang, The Blockbusters jumped Dysfunction from behind, giving them an early advantage that they’d only lose momentarily when the ladder almost pulled off a sudden upset off a hot tag and Backbody Drop.
Nonetheless, the champs were able to withstand the offense, quickly finishing off Dysfunction with an Assisted Spinning Uranage.
Result: The Blockbusters (C) DEFEAT Dysfunction
Match 4: Tony Evans (W/ Jay Dinero) Vs. Will Austin
Both men took turns taking breaks outside the ring to gain a momentary breather from each other’s offense, but the match was interrupted when a brawl between Tony Gunn and Kal Herro spilled out of the backstage area onto the entrance ramp. The two were separated as the match in the ring continued where Austin took advantage of the distraction to jump Evans from behind and finally gain firm control.
He continued his punishment with precision, executing a Senton Bomb, a Suicide Dive, and a classic Bodyslam among other maneuvers to Evans. Austin seemingly had an answer for everything Evans tried until Dinero paid his dividends on the outside, allowing Evans to turn the tables with a Tilt-a-Whirl Slam. As Evans looked to end things, Dinero hopped up on the apron looking to give his partner the loaded glove, but accidentally dropped it. As Evans looked for the missing glove, the future took advantage with a roll-up victory.
Result: Will Austin DEFEATS Tony Evans
Segment: A Revolution Beatdown
As Rise returned from commercial break, Revolution carried the unconscious bodies of Omar Amir and Luscious Lawrence to the ring. Severely beaten and outnumbered, Beaches N Cream suffered further beating at the hands of Revolution.
As the announce team analyzed Revolution’s actions, Miss Gannon invited Linda Kay into the ring, who suffered a shocking beatdown at the hands of J-Rod. Before it got too bad, Freya The Slaya made the save, delivering a thunderous Chokeslam to J-Rod.
Match 5: Dustin Jackson Vs. AJZ
With a lot to lose for both men, Jackson and AJZ squared off in the fifth match of the night. Jackson used his speed and technical prowess to take an early lead before AJZ cut him off with a Clothesline to the back of the head followed up by three perfect German Suplexes. AJZ used his strength to stay on top for a good chunk of the match before Jackson countered AJZ into a Neckbreaker and hit a Death Valley Driver to turn the tides.
After hitting a rolling Senton Bomb to the outside, a move that he missed last week, Jackson was able to roll AJZ up for the big victory and continue his momentum.
Result: Dustin Jackson DEFEAT AJZ
Match 6: Adam Revolver Vs. Erik Surge
An angry Adam Revolver burst out of the gate against the larger Surge before Shannon The Dude wasted little time making his presence known. He sat at the announce table, but the distraction was enough for Surge to gain the lead by tossing Revolver head-first into the ring post.
Despite being taken to ‘Suplex City’ by Surge, Revolver fought back in front of his former best friend for the feel-good win. After the match, Revolver tried attacking Shannon, but was taken out by Leo Fox of Revolution before any damage could be done.
Result: Adam Revolver DEFEATS Erik Surge
Match 7: Mount Kadeem (C) Vs. Jack Vaughn
In arguably his stiffest test of his short career, Mt. Kadeem looked to defeat The Veteran Jack Vaughn in tonight’s main event. No small guy himself, Vaughn tried taking the fight to Kadeem, but the champ’s size was just too much to overcome. He bodied Vaughn, tossing him around the ring intermixed with stiff shots to wear down his more experienced foe.
While Vaughn managed to build short streaks of offense, he was always shut back down by Kadeem’s size and strength. Bear Hugs, Chokeslams on the apron, stiff shots, and earth-shifting shoulder tackles couldn’t keep Vaughn down, as he eventually fought back with a series of Lariats.
Suddenly, the brawl between Gunn and Herro spilled outside again, this time making its way into the ring. As security tried breaking up the fight, the rest of Revolution joined in, prompting the rest of the locker room to make the save and clear the ring. The show faded off the air with everyone battling in the ring.
Result: No Contest
Overall:
As you can tell by the end of the show, there’s a way to go before things look peaceful in the OVW locker room. With Basham and now Miss Gannon by his side running Revolution and OVW as a whole, who can blame the rest of the roster? Two matches were interrupted by the aftermath of Kal Herro and Tony Gunn’s hate-filled rivalry, athletes like Crystal White or Beaches N Cream who looked to only voice their opinion suffered beatdowns at the hands of Revolution, and The Blockbusters looked extremely impressive in their second Rise match.
Similarly to other shows we’ve seen, it’s not all cloudy skies and bad news. Emerging stories like the ever-building momentum of Dustin Jackson and Freya The Slaya hot on the trail of J-Rod are also newsworthy headlines from the show. As usual, the episode delivered a great mix of action and drama, and left us on the edge of our seats with a cliffhanger ending- a brawl that couldn’t be contained or finished within a single episode.
