Showtime All-Star Wrestling – Episode 167
Airing April 23, 2011 on the America One Network
Taped March 12, 2011 at the Stadium Inn in Nashville, TN
Airing April 23, 2011 on the America One Network
Taped March 12, 2011 at the Stadium Inn in Nashville, TN
SAW airs on America One at 10pm Fridays with a replay at 3pm Sunday with an internet stream at wvvh.com.
Last Week on SAW…Johnny Bandana challenged fellow Derrick King Enterprises member, Drew Haskins to a rematch. King punched Bandana in the face to seal the victory for his boy, Drew…Jesse Emerson defeated Vordell Walker via foreign object from Paul Adams after referee Rudy Charles appeared to have a fainting spell…Kid Kash pinned Chris Michaels by using the tights…Reno Riggins pressured Kash to reveal the outcome of his investigation into the stolen SAW tapes. Kash said he was close to naming the nasty little prick.
An unusually dapper Michael Graham hyped the April 1 “Wrestling & Racing” event at the US43 Dragstrip (which ended up being postponed until May 6 due to inclement weather) featuring SAW Champion “Gunner” Phil Shatter vs. “Crimson” Tommy Mercer.
1 – CODY MELTON vs. SIGMON
Winning streak or not, the crowd didn’t exactly go wild for Melton’s entrance. Sigmon opened with consecutive scoop slams. Melton answered with two of his own and Sigmon took a powder. Back inside the ring, Sigmon slapped the taste out Melton’s mouth. Melton paid him back in triplicate and added a pair of dropkicks that sent Sigmon to the outside once again. Sigmon took over with the most clichéd game changer in pro wrestling -- snapping the opponent’s throat on the top rope. Sigmon went on offense and was able to cut off Melton’s comeback attempts. Sigmon tried for his signature diving headbutt. Nobody home. The crowd revved up a “go, Cody, go” chant. Melton nipped up to spark a fierce comeback. With Sigmon on jelly legs, Melton hit a sweet standing spinning heel kick for a near fall. Sigmon halted the rally by goring Melton with that massive head of his. Out of nowhere, Melton hit a short powerbomb (the Meltdown) for the pin.
WINNER: Melton via pinfall with the Meltdown at 7:25.
Ever so humble babyface Melton had his first SAW interview disrupted by DKE. “There would be no you without me,” King said. He said Melton would get an opportunity to prove himself next week. Melton said he was waiting for that chance and talked about how King had taken advantage of him during his training. King told Bandana that he was a screw up, but since he still owned him, he was ordering Bandana to show up next week so he could show him how to make money.
Chase Stevens (making his first appearance on SAW TV in over 3 months) said Mercer was finally getting his title shot, but he was one that should be defending the SAW title, because Mercer was responsible for his losing his rematch with Shatter. “Well this Friday night, Phil Shatter, Tommy Mercer, payback’s a bitch. C ya Friday.”
Earlier This Week…Reno Riggins made a brief statement from the SAW office aka Hargrove Body Shop. He described Rudy Charles’ performance last week as a spectacle and said he was suspending him without pay.
Earlier Tonight…Rick Santel (with Jesse Emerson and Roxy Rossi) announced the founding of the “The Rudy Fund”, the premise being that Charles had a wife and kids and pets including a gerbil and a goldfish, and would have a hard time feeding his family without those big buck from SAW. Santel exhorted viewers to go to his website and press the “donate” button to give $1 to $1000 to $10,000 a day. “You can feed Rudy.” Santel said Charles loved to his catch phrase, so he was going to send one out him. However, Santel was too choked up to get the words out. As all this was going on, “Donate! Ricksantel.com” was flashing in red at the bottom of the screen.
2 – JESSE EMERSON (with Rick Santel & Roxy Rossi) vs. MATT RIVIERA
Graham noted that Riviera (net worth 5.5 million) was a contestant on the short-lived VH1 reality show “Megan Wants a Millionaire”. Early on, Emerson backed off from the power of Riviera. After an awkward exchange, Riviera started working on Emerson’s arm. Riviera busted out the babyface flurry and Emerson took a powder. Back inside the ring, Riviera did a spin-around charging back elbow that reads a lot better than it looked. Emerson countered a big boot with a dragon screw leg whip. Emerson was doing all kinds of nasty things to Riviera’s knee. Santel jabbed Riviera with his cane. Graham said Santel’s new hairstyle reminded him of Ozzy Osbourne or Jack White. Riviera kicked Emerson off a figure four attempt, sending him face first into buckle. Riviera then hit his best move the match, a release back suplex that left both men down. Riviera fired away with flipper forearm. Riviera got two with a weak lariat and used a hangman neckbreaker for his big near fall. Riviera connected with a kneelift, but couldn’t follow up because of the damaged knee. Emerson wasted Riviera with the Alabama Slam for the pin.
WINNER: Emerson clean in the middle with the Alabama Slam in 7:40.
Earlier Tonight…Chris Michaels and Jeff Daniels explained their motives for going after the tag team titles. Michaels said he and his former partner, Sean Casey, never lost the titles (“We were stripped of the titles due to an injury or technicality, whatever!”), so he went out got the toughest partner he could find. Daniels said he had taken care of the business that brought him to SAW – exacting revenge on Hammerjack.
But I got to thinkin’ about what you offered up, Chris, and that’s not really a bad idea, you know. It gives me an opportunity to stick around and do what I like to do, and that’s hurt people. And meanwhile, if I can put some gold around my waist, which always looks really good, that means more money in my pocket, and I’m all about money.
3 – SAW Tag Team Title Match: Champions PICTURE PERFECT (John Michael Worthington & Christian Jacobs) vs. CHRIS MICHAELS & JEFF DANIELS (with Dominique)
Daniels was all full of himself after scoring with a slam and hiptoss. Jacobs paid him back in kind and Daniels scampered to the corner on his knees. Michaels fared no better. Picture Perfect double teamed him and Worthington hit a Perfect Plex for a near fall. Michaels uncorked a wicked right to the jaw, and Worthington answered with a blistering knockdown chop. The champs isolated Michaels using quick tags in and out. Graham called it textbook tag team wrestling. When Daniels tried to interfere, Worthington met him with a right hand, but the diversion gave Michaels a chance to hit the Double Shot. Daniels and Michaels went to work on Worthington. It wouldn’t be a Daniels match if the wicked witch Dominique didn’t get her two cents in. She got physically involved and also distracted the ref when Worthington had Daniels pinned. Michaels and Worthington exchanged big time punches. Michaels also used a Garvin Stomp along the way. But Michaels wasted too much time going for whatever off the middle rope and tasted Worthington’s boot. Michaels managed to make a tag. Worthington caught Daniels with a uranage. Both men were slow to rise. Worthington hit a DDT and made the tag to Jacobs. House cleaning ensued. A big boot connected on Michaels, but Daniels broke up the pin. Daniels tried to make Jacobs into a stationary target for Michaels’ superkick. Jacobs ducked. Daniels didn’t. Picture Perfect finished Michaels with their neckbreaker/powerbomb combo.
WINNER: Picture Perfect retained the tag titles in 13 minutes when Jacobs pinned Michaels after the Snapshot.
Afterthoughts: Coupled with last week’s episode, SAW TV is definitely on the upswing, although it still has a ways to go to reach previous lofty heights. The episode wasn’t as rich in storyline development, but the related talk segments were all well done…Charles has spent more time on suspension that he has as an active official. “The Rudy Fund” segment was wacky SAW comedy at its best. It wasn’t the material so much as it was Santel’s splendid performance. It was also the most best promo so far by the revised A-Team ensemble. Emerson has had a tendency to get tongue tied on his promos, but he was in the zone on this one…King teased that further abuse was in store for Bandana. King’s Memphis-infused presence makes the simplest of segments fun to watch…How refreshing it was to see Michaels and Daniels give a logical explanation for why they were shifting direction and joining forces, instead of the random stuff that happens far too often these days on pro wrestling TV shows…Melton and Sigmon had the best match of the hour. Crisp, competitive and fast-paced without being spotty. Melton was about as expressioinless as they come on that interview though…Emerson vs. Riviera was OK. They told the story that Riviera had a legit shot to win but it went down the drain because his knee had taken too much punishment. Riviera has a decent look, and he was doing the right things at the right times. He’s just not much of an athlete. It didn’t help that Graham kept getting his first name wrong…The main event had the most heat. It was solid tag team wrestling, as Picture Perfect returned with a win over a top notch team. The tight arm tassels notwithstanding, I’m having a rough time buying Picture Perfect as babyface champions. They were babyfaces by default in the feud with DKE. That worked fine, but as an ongoing thing, not so much. They’re the biggest guys on the roster, and their promo style doesn’t lend itself to the role.
Feedback welcomed – larry@georgiawrestlinghistory.com
