----I know the word “hybrid” seems to be almost a cliché when it comes to something new, but what was presented last night at the “Nightmare” Ken Wayne School of Wrestling was just that. It was a throw back to the old days of hold for hold wrestling with the norm of wrestling psychology getting a whole new twist. The way the matches were built seem to make them legit. The crowd was popping for dropkicks, submissions and just pure athleticism. Eight guys put on a one hour show that was easily better than anything that has aired on Memphis Wrestling in over two years.
----The eight guys represented a mixture of talent in this area. Some of them performed to their expectations. Some of them just did not fit the style. Four guys from the Ken Wayne School shined - Greg King Jr, Eric Wayne, Matt Justyce and Kid Nikels [pictured]. King has “it”. He is a true babyface in every sense of the word – with the look and the smile. Hell, that should be his gimmick – “Babyface”. Eric Wayne has “it” – and it all does not have to do with his genes either. He carries himself like a veteran and did a good job. Justyce is maybe #4 of this group, but that is not to say that he is that much less talented than the other three. He interacts well with the crowd, which is missing in these days. Nikels is the “man” to me of this group. He didn’t have the best bout of the group, but he was over huge and comes off like a guy that has been in the business at least double the time he has spent.
----The roster was then filled up with Tatt2, Derrick King, Matt Riviera and Jeff Jett. Derrick King, who won honors last year in both MOTY and TV MOTY along with two time RRO Wrestler of The Year, has come onboard with this project. It was a surprise to see him there, but he was true professional and will add a lot to this group. Tatt2, who I have criticized for doing just spots, surprised the hell of me and actually wrestled. Riviera seemed to find it hard to work this style and Jett was just out of place.
----Special referee for the night was “Downtown” Bruno and he added credibility to the event. It was funny saying that since his actual “character” in wrestling was always a slimy heel. First class guy.
----Something has to be said here before I award “stars” for the matches and talk about psychology. Much like Lucha Libre or the UWF Japanese style of wrestling [which was real STIFF], this group is going for a new style. It is not your typical wrestling psychology with babyface shine, followed by heel heat and going to the finish. It is more hold for hold and building for the finish, which could come out of nowhere, much like a MMA fight can end at anytime. So, in awarding “stars” for these matches, I might be a little tougher on these guys since they are trying to evolve into a style and they are really only on page one of the book so far.
THE RESULTS
----Matt Justyce vs Greg King JR ended in a DRAW. Justyce/King shook hands before the match as did all the workers before and after their matches. These guys worked a real solid match. Hold for hold showcasing what both guys could do. Justyce hit a dropkick and there was a scary loud pop for that. These guys worked almost like they were building for a 60 minute match, but only going 15 minutes. King took a nasty bump over the ropes outside the ring and Bruno counted him out. He was helped to the back and Justyce said he did not want a win like that so it was declared a DRAW. Good way to end a good match putting some realism into it. [**1/2]
----Derrick King beat Matt Riviera with a superkick. Riviera was out of his element here as he was almost playing old school heel. First part was good, and then it was almost like Riviera was doing “heat” and it just didn’t feel right. Riviera looked out in the crowd as he had DK down and said, “What’ca think about that Brian Tramel??” and Bruno followed with a Brian Tramel comment. Riviera hit the Mr. Wrestling II kneelift and it rang DK’s bell for shoot. [*1/2]
----Kid Nikels beat John Jett. Nikels got a huge pop coming out. He has such great facial expressions and seemed to be just eating up the crowd reaction. Jett was really totally outmatched by Nikels’ ability and Jett may even have had more matches under his belt. Nikels did what he could do with him pretty much manhandling Jett a couple of times. Nikels comes off as legit tough ass. He finished it off with an arm hold submission that the crowd just ate up. [**] – all for Kid.
----Eric Wayne beat Tatt2 with a german suplex for the win in the main event. A very good match that foreshadowed what this style could be. Tatt2 and Eric went hold for hold to the mat to start the match. Tatt2 was fast and quick – very impressive. They worked a very fast believable match. As Thompson said on “Shooting the Shiznit”, not so fast that you could not enjoy it and not so slow that it bored you. Match went back and forth with Tatt2 taking a little bit of an advantage. He did the “169” on Eric and then went to do a second one. Eric moved and hit Tatt2 [who went high up] with a german suplex for the win. Eric played subtle heel not wanting to shake Tatt2’s hand after the match. [***]
NOTES
----Maybe around 70 in the crowd…The way the school was fixed up it reminded me of the old Memphis Wrestling TV studio…The students of the school had video packages before each match. I think DK and Tatt2 filmed ones for next week. Nice touch…Big video screen was up [very hard to see at times] as you could watch the show as it progressed along with the commercial breaks…I had the chance to meet Greg King SR. He put over the site. Nice to meet you…Wayne and LoadedBoot – RRO readers – were both in attendance. Nice to see Wayne again and it was a pleasure meeting the Boot…”Crazy” Luke Graham JR was in attendance and was pleasure “shooting the shiznit” with him after the matches. Luke and I don’t always see eye to eye on things in this business, but he is always fun to talk with…Brian Thompson, even though everyone knows he is a friend and helps with the site, is so good with the crowd and making the product seem legit…The first and last matches were put over by Ken Wayne for the fact they accomplished their goals…Kid doesn’t look like a “Kid”…If I had to have picked someone that could not “fit” the style before the show, it would have been Tatt2. He proved me wrong…Major discussion after the show was talk about educating fans to the new style and if there would be longevity to it. The first part is educating them and Wayne knows it takes time to do things like that. It will not happen overnight…When ask why Tatt2 has never shown his wrestling skills, I was told – because he don’t have to do that kind of stuff at other places he works…Guys from this area that would fit the style – Stan Lee, Greg Anthony, Alan Steele, Flash Flanagan, Dustin Starr and possible a guy like Austin Lane, Chris Rocker Kevin White or Kilo…A nice touch [and something that they use to do in UWF Japan] would be to bring all the guys out and stand them in the ring as an unit and then introduce each one to the crowd. I would have each guy wearing a NEW t-shirt…It will be interesting to see how they work tag team psychology into this style…The TV show should be posted on the site sometime early in the week. There is a special commercial that aired last night that I am just going to wait for everyone to see. LOL I will then have an explanation for it.
----My daughter Karly and DK below. Karly is celebrating her birthday today - Happy Birthday!!!!
Photos by Kayte Tramel
