OMEN
04-10-2006, 10:09 AM
America’s Most Wanted wreaked havoc at the Nashville Fairgrounds last night. A blazing hot postmatch angle saw AMW form an alliance with Tracy Smothers that resulted in Ricky Morton and The Naturals being carried out of the building.
The show promoted by USA Championship Wrestling drew 150 paying $1862. It was the first attempt to bring weekly Wednesday night wrestling back to the Fairgrounds since TNA left the Nashville scene in September 2004.
(1) Jason James pinned John Davis at 6:30 with an Air Raid Crash. James gets it. The kid might be stuck with a body like Arik Cannon, but he’s got a mind for the business.
(2) Dustin Starr beat Matt Catalano in 6:12. Catalano has a subtle arrogance about him that works. Starr does a Lifeguard gimmick. They worked a slow pace and sold every move like it was a death blow. Starr used Matt Hardy’s Side Effect as his finisher. Catalano did a funny bit during a postmatch confrontation with a fan, where he tripped over the ropes and fell on his face.
Steve O announced that the USA board was stripping Jon Michael & Chris Michaels of the USA Wrestling tag titles. No explanation was given as to why the board saw fit to resort to such drastic measures. O said the new champions would be decided via a series of matches on upcoming USA shows.
(3) Adam Armor (with Christine Avalon) and Jon Michael went to a 10 minute draw that lasted only 7:51. Both of these guys have potential. Armor has filled out to where he resembles bearded Joey Mercury. They wrestled this match in a time warp. The one-minute-to-go call came at 6:20. The final minute lasted an eternity. Some good action here. Armor did the leapfrog/dropkick sequence. Michael caught Armor coming off the top and hit a back suplex. Michael worked the body part. The crowd got behind Armor. Coming out of a stiff exchange, Armor hit a back suplex, a discus punch and leg lariat for a near fall. One to go. They traded near falls, Michaels with a spinebuster and Armor with a modified tree slam. Then it was back and forth pin attempts until the bell sounded. Fans called for 5 more minutes but nothing materialized.
(4) Vic da Bruiser beat Bill Dundee in 6:37. Dundee looks good for 64 years old. It was all comedy early, and they both have the facial expressions to do very little while keeping it entertaining. Vic did the one man criss-cross deal. Bruiser eventually put Dundee down with a series of right hands. Dundee made the comeback. Bruiser pulled a chain out of his tights. Pow. Right in the kisser for the 1-2-3.
Bruiser called out Brandon West but he wasn’t there. Bruiser expressed his frustration by decking Steve O. Bruiser said it would be do or die for West on 4/12.
(5) Christie Ricci beat Traci Brooks in 10:45 to retain the NWA World Women’s Title. The more I see of Ricci, the more I appreciate her skills. She can actually wrestle. What a concept. And everything she does looks crisp. Brooks isn’t in Ricci’s league as a wrestler, but as a heel, she’s one tough looking broad. Brooks used a hair takedown. Ricci nipped up and gave her a double dose of her own medicine. Ricci did the ride ‘em cowboy spot. Brooks spent a long time selling her sore ass to the delight of the fans in the first row. Brooks took over with a backbreaker. She smashed Ricci’s face into the mat. Brooks choked Ricci on the middle rope and delivered a jumping double knee to the back. Ricci came right back with an inside cradle and a backslide for near falls. Collision and both women down. Ricci’s comeback was a beauty─ a lariat (not that lame crap the women do on RAW, Ricci hooked Brooks by her neck to take her feet clean out from under her), a back elbow and a leg lariat. Brooks rallied with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Brooks went for another DDT and Ricci countered with a bridging northern lights suplex for the pin. Great looking finish.
Chris Harris cut a babyface promo talking about his respect for Ricky Morton.
(6) Ricky Morton beat Tracy Smothers (with Traci Brooks & Jason James). They went close to 20 minutes. Lots and lots of stalling. Smothers did the deal where he walked towards the back and then sprinted to the ring to beat the 10 count. In so doing, Smothers slid across the ring on his belly and fell out the other side. Smothers heeled. Morton scored a visual fall with a backslide, but Rudy Charles didn’t see it due to distraction provided by Brooks. Smothers applied a grounded sleeper hold, using the ropes for extra leverage. James distracted. Smothers used a ridiculous jumping chop drop and reapplied the sleeper. Morton dug down deep. Morton made the comeback with a reverse atomic drop and the 10 punches. Smothers used a double leg takedown to pin Morton with his feet on the ropes. Harris came out and stooged off Smothers. Charles restarted the match. Morton immediately schoolboyed Smothers for the three count. Smothers whined about being the victim of a fast count.
(7) The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) beat The Bullies (Bully Douglas & Alex Krisis) in 14:50 to earn a slot in the USA tag title match. Naturals dominated for almost 10 minutes. They hit a double team facebuster on Bully and Krisis had to make the save. Krisis stuck a sneaky knee in Andy’s back to turn the tide. Bully used a grounded sleeper hold. Not a good choice after the last match. Bullies worked on Andy’s back with power moves. Krisis choked Andy with the tag rope. Krisis missed a legdrop off the middle rope to set up the hot tag and some fine looking house cleaning by Stevens. Unfortunately, the finish was a mess. Naturals pinned Bully with a Natural Disaster that looked more like an unnatural act. It took them forever to get Bully in position for it. Bullies got their heat back with a postmatch beatdown on Naturals, as these two teams meet again on 4/6 at the Old Hickory Community Center. Armor hit the ring with a chair to make the save.
Bert Prentice introduced Tanya Tucker to the crowd and did a brief interview to plug her reality show “Tuckerville” that airs on TLC.
(8) Flash beat Chris Harris via DQ in 7:15. The match, itself, was really good stuff. The finish and postmatch was even better. Flash (Slash Venom in IWA Puerto Rico) was his usually surly self. He looked the same as I remembered him from his heyday at the Fairgrounds and his wars with Wolfie D for Music City Wrestling. Harris beat Flash from pillar to post. Flash begged off. Flash went for a chair. Harris blocked that but Flash posted him. They brawled at ringside. Flash caught Harris coming through the ropes and applied a grounded sleeper. Geez, three matches in a row. Charles caught Flash cheating. Harris did an awesome looking sunset flip for a near fall. Flash cut him off with a hangman neckbreaker. But Flash missed hugely on a middle rope legdrop. Harris rallied with a flying lariat and a bulldog. Harris signaled it was time to go to the top. Smothers, James and Brooks came to ringside. Smothers tossed a set of handcuffs to Harris. Flash dropped like he had been shot with a gun. Charles saw Harris holding the cuffs and signaled for the DQ.
Morton came out to explain things to Charles. Harris complained that those weren’t his handcuffs. Harris pulled out another set of handcuffs and decked Morton. “These are mine!” Harris, Smothers, Brooks and James starting beating on the helpless Morton. Prentice tried to intervene. Harris knocked Prentice off the apron and told him stay out of his business. They cranked up James Storm’s old babyface intro music and in walked Storm, swigging from his beer bottle. Storm confronted Harris about his actions. Storm said Tennessee was his state and TNA was different business from what they did in Nashville. “Sit in the corner, drink you beer, and keep ridin’ my coattails, cowboy,” said Harris. Storm teased hitting Harris with the beer bottle. He set the bottle down to tend to the fallen Morton. Harris went for the bottle. Storm grabbed the bottle and had more words with Harris. Storm then shattered the bottle on Morton’s head. The Naturals hit the ring and got the hell beat out of them as well. Storm blasted Charles with a chair and the other two refs ran away in fear. All in all, it made for a great carnage visual. Several fans started going nuts at this point, and Storm was egging them on. It was the typical Fairgrounds stuff with fans using filthy language, charging the ring and brandishing chairs. When order was finally restored, the limp bodies of Morton and Stevens were carried to the back.
NOTES: The TNA contingent of Scott D’Amore, Jeremy Borash and Bob Ryder were viewing the show from the balcony. Bart Sawyer, NWA Main Event promoter Mike Porter and the infamous Chicken Hat Charles were in the house as well…USA returns to the Fairgrounds next Wednesday 4/12 with Harris vs. Morton, Smothers vs. Stevens, Bruiser vs. West, Flash vs. Armor, Chris Cage (formerly with OVW) vs. Krisis, Starr vs. Douglas, and Catalano vs. Rex Sexton…USA has shows this coming weekend in Old Hickory on 4/6 and Shelbyville (at the National Guard Armory) on 4/7. The Naturals are scheduled for both shows…Tommy Dreamer’s advertised appearance on 4/12 will be moved to another date due to a conflict with his WWE schedule…The 4/19 show features Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams…Ring announcing duties were handled by the trio of Steve O, Scott Barry and Troy Beasley. Beasley is back in good health after a scary episode with a blocked renal artery…Tucker made more than a cameo appearance. She was seated at ringside and interacted with fans after the show.
1Wrestling
The show promoted by USA Championship Wrestling drew 150 paying $1862. It was the first attempt to bring weekly Wednesday night wrestling back to the Fairgrounds since TNA left the Nashville scene in September 2004.
(1) Jason James pinned John Davis at 6:30 with an Air Raid Crash. James gets it. The kid might be stuck with a body like Arik Cannon, but he’s got a mind for the business.
(2) Dustin Starr beat Matt Catalano in 6:12. Catalano has a subtle arrogance about him that works. Starr does a Lifeguard gimmick. They worked a slow pace and sold every move like it was a death blow. Starr used Matt Hardy’s Side Effect as his finisher. Catalano did a funny bit during a postmatch confrontation with a fan, where he tripped over the ropes and fell on his face.
Steve O announced that the USA board was stripping Jon Michael & Chris Michaels of the USA Wrestling tag titles. No explanation was given as to why the board saw fit to resort to such drastic measures. O said the new champions would be decided via a series of matches on upcoming USA shows.
(3) Adam Armor (with Christine Avalon) and Jon Michael went to a 10 minute draw that lasted only 7:51. Both of these guys have potential. Armor has filled out to where he resembles bearded Joey Mercury. They wrestled this match in a time warp. The one-minute-to-go call came at 6:20. The final minute lasted an eternity. Some good action here. Armor did the leapfrog/dropkick sequence. Michael caught Armor coming off the top and hit a back suplex. Michael worked the body part. The crowd got behind Armor. Coming out of a stiff exchange, Armor hit a back suplex, a discus punch and leg lariat for a near fall. One to go. They traded near falls, Michaels with a spinebuster and Armor with a modified tree slam. Then it was back and forth pin attempts until the bell sounded. Fans called for 5 more minutes but nothing materialized.
(4) Vic da Bruiser beat Bill Dundee in 6:37. Dundee looks good for 64 years old. It was all comedy early, and they both have the facial expressions to do very little while keeping it entertaining. Vic did the one man criss-cross deal. Bruiser eventually put Dundee down with a series of right hands. Dundee made the comeback. Bruiser pulled a chain out of his tights. Pow. Right in the kisser for the 1-2-3.
Bruiser called out Brandon West but he wasn’t there. Bruiser expressed his frustration by decking Steve O. Bruiser said it would be do or die for West on 4/12.
(5) Christie Ricci beat Traci Brooks in 10:45 to retain the NWA World Women’s Title. The more I see of Ricci, the more I appreciate her skills. She can actually wrestle. What a concept. And everything she does looks crisp. Brooks isn’t in Ricci’s league as a wrestler, but as a heel, she’s one tough looking broad. Brooks used a hair takedown. Ricci nipped up and gave her a double dose of her own medicine. Ricci did the ride ‘em cowboy spot. Brooks spent a long time selling her sore ass to the delight of the fans in the first row. Brooks took over with a backbreaker. She smashed Ricci’s face into the mat. Brooks choked Ricci on the middle rope and delivered a jumping double knee to the back. Ricci came right back with an inside cradle and a backslide for near falls. Collision and both women down. Ricci’s comeback was a beauty─ a lariat (not that lame crap the women do on RAW, Ricci hooked Brooks by her neck to take her feet clean out from under her), a back elbow and a leg lariat. Brooks rallied with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Brooks went for another DDT and Ricci countered with a bridging northern lights suplex for the pin. Great looking finish.
Chris Harris cut a babyface promo talking about his respect for Ricky Morton.
(6) Ricky Morton beat Tracy Smothers (with Traci Brooks & Jason James). They went close to 20 minutes. Lots and lots of stalling. Smothers did the deal where he walked towards the back and then sprinted to the ring to beat the 10 count. In so doing, Smothers slid across the ring on his belly and fell out the other side. Smothers heeled. Morton scored a visual fall with a backslide, but Rudy Charles didn’t see it due to distraction provided by Brooks. Smothers applied a grounded sleeper hold, using the ropes for extra leverage. James distracted. Smothers used a ridiculous jumping chop drop and reapplied the sleeper. Morton dug down deep. Morton made the comeback with a reverse atomic drop and the 10 punches. Smothers used a double leg takedown to pin Morton with his feet on the ropes. Harris came out and stooged off Smothers. Charles restarted the match. Morton immediately schoolboyed Smothers for the three count. Smothers whined about being the victim of a fast count.
(7) The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) beat The Bullies (Bully Douglas & Alex Krisis) in 14:50 to earn a slot in the USA tag title match. Naturals dominated for almost 10 minutes. They hit a double team facebuster on Bully and Krisis had to make the save. Krisis stuck a sneaky knee in Andy’s back to turn the tide. Bully used a grounded sleeper hold. Not a good choice after the last match. Bullies worked on Andy’s back with power moves. Krisis choked Andy with the tag rope. Krisis missed a legdrop off the middle rope to set up the hot tag and some fine looking house cleaning by Stevens. Unfortunately, the finish was a mess. Naturals pinned Bully with a Natural Disaster that looked more like an unnatural act. It took them forever to get Bully in position for it. Bullies got their heat back with a postmatch beatdown on Naturals, as these two teams meet again on 4/6 at the Old Hickory Community Center. Armor hit the ring with a chair to make the save.
Bert Prentice introduced Tanya Tucker to the crowd and did a brief interview to plug her reality show “Tuckerville” that airs on TLC.
(8) Flash beat Chris Harris via DQ in 7:15. The match, itself, was really good stuff. The finish and postmatch was even better. Flash (Slash Venom in IWA Puerto Rico) was his usually surly self. He looked the same as I remembered him from his heyday at the Fairgrounds and his wars with Wolfie D for Music City Wrestling. Harris beat Flash from pillar to post. Flash begged off. Flash went for a chair. Harris blocked that but Flash posted him. They brawled at ringside. Flash caught Harris coming through the ropes and applied a grounded sleeper. Geez, three matches in a row. Charles caught Flash cheating. Harris did an awesome looking sunset flip for a near fall. Flash cut him off with a hangman neckbreaker. But Flash missed hugely on a middle rope legdrop. Harris rallied with a flying lariat and a bulldog. Harris signaled it was time to go to the top. Smothers, James and Brooks came to ringside. Smothers tossed a set of handcuffs to Harris. Flash dropped like he had been shot with a gun. Charles saw Harris holding the cuffs and signaled for the DQ.
Morton came out to explain things to Charles. Harris complained that those weren’t his handcuffs. Harris pulled out another set of handcuffs and decked Morton. “These are mine!” Harris, Smothers, Brooks and James starting beating on the helpless Morton. Prentice tried to intervene. Harris knocked Prentice off the apron and told him stay out of his business. They cranked up James Storm’s old babyface intro music and in walked Storm, swigging from his beer bottle. Storm confronted Harris about his actions. Storm said Tennessee was his state and TNA was different business from what they did in Nashville. “Sit in the corner, drink you beer, and keep ridin’ my coattails, cowboy,” said Harris. Storm teased hitting Harris with the beer bottle. He set the bottle down to tend to the fallen Morton. Harris went for the bottle. Storm grabbed the bottle and had more words with Harris. Storm then shattered the bottle on Morton’s head. The Naturals hit the ring and got the hell beat out of them as well. Storm blasted Charles with a chair and the other two refs ran away in fear. All in all, it made for a great carnage visual. Several fans started going nuts at this point, and Storm was egging them on. It was the typical Fairgrounds stuff with fans using filthy language, charging the ring and brandishing chairs. When order was finally restored, the limp bodies of Morton and Stevens were carried to the back.
NOTES: The TNA contingent of Scott D’Amore, Jeremy Borash and Bob Ryder were viewing the show from the balcony. Bart Sawyer, NWA Main Event promoter Mike Porter and the infamous Chicken Hat Charles were in the house as well…USA returns to the Fairgrounds next Wednesday 4/12 with Harris vs. Morton, Smothers vs. Stevens, Bruiser vs. West, Flash vs. Armor, Chris Cage (formerly with OVW) vs. Krisis, Starr vs. Douglas, and Catalano vs. Rex Sexton…USA has shows this coming weekend in Old Hickory on 4/6 and Shelbyville (at the National Guard Armory) on 4/7. The Naturals are scheduled for both shows…Tommy Dreamer’s advertised appearance on 4/12 will be moved to another date due to a conflict with his WWE schedule…The 4/19 show features Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams…Ring announcing duties were handled by the trio of Steve O, Scott Barry and Troy Beasley. Beasley is back in good health after a scary episode with a blocked renal artery…Tucker made more than a cameo appearance. She was seated at ringside and interacted with fans after the show.
1Wrestling