----Larry Goodman sent in a new SAW TV report.
Showtime All-Star Wrestling
Airing July 31, 2010 in Nashville on CW58
Taped July 24, 2010 at the Gallatin Civic Center
LAST WEEK…A black thug clocks Vordell Walker with a tire iron costing Vordell & Wolfie D the SAW Tag Team Championships, putting them back in the grubby hands of Derrick King Enterprises.
“Derrick King Enterprises Most Wanted” - Cut to King and Sista O’Feelyah. King offered a reward to any fan that could identify the African American male that interfered in their match last week. King claimed to have no clue who it was. He asked fans to email the scoop to Commissioner Freddie Morton at fullforcepro@aol.com.
Cut to Reno Riggins and Dan Masters in the ring. We’re in “Green Wave Country” at the Gallatin Civic Center. Coming up: SAW International Champion Chase Stevens, Marc Anthony and DKE.
1 -- JOHNNY BANDANA (with Derrick King & Drew Haskins & Sista O’Feelyah & Half Dolla) vs. CODY MELTON
Bandana had a tie hanging from the waist of his tights down past his crotch. Reno called it a fashion statement. Bandana was being outwrestled, so he threw Melton over the top. Bandana was too busy playing to the crowd to notice Melton skinning the cat. Melton blitzed Bandana with a pair of dropkicks and a body slam for two. Bandana begged off and used the tights to toss Melton through the ropes. Reno said the impact sounded like a piece of liver hitting the kitchen floor. Bandana ran Melton’s head into the post. King slammed Melton on the hardwood floor and rolled him back inside, where Bandana covered for a two count. Bandana had a tough time keeping Melton under control. He kicked out of two pinning combinations and cut off Melton’s rally with a back elbow. Frustration was setting in for Bandana. (commercial break) Melton dropped Bandana with a sweet neckbreaker and went up top. With Haskins and O’Feelyah distracting ref Jesse Fields, King shoved Melton off. Masters complained about the dirty tactics. Bandana hit a moonsault to pin Melton. They went to a replay that was worth replaying.
WINNER: Bandana in 6:42. Nicely done. Everything was smooth and well timed.
Cut to Masters surrounded by DK Enterprises. The camera panned across the entire lot of them, and what a bizarre looking crew it is. King got on his high horse about the roll DKE was on. Not for long though, as Walker attacked them from the blindside. Walker and Haskins were brawling in the ring. Fields ran out and called for the bell. We’ve got us a match.
2 -- VORDELL WALKER vs. “Teen Excitement” DREW HASKINS (with Derrick King & Johnny Bandana & Sista O’Feelyah & Half Dolla)
Walker backed Haskins into the corner and teased a big chop. Haskins was hot footing it and squirming all around and had the crowd going nuts. Haskins dropped like a stone when Walker delivered it. They repeated the spot in the opposite corner. Haskins was bumping like a pinball. King finally pulled Haskins out of the ring to save further abuse. Haskins stalled until the count reached nine. Walker met him with a belly to belly suplex for a near fall. Masters admitted his favoritism towards Walker. He revealed that they were traveling companions from Savannah and referenced the good times on River Street. Haskins hit a jawbreaker to take over. Riggins said Haskins was on the radar of every major promotion in the world. Masters mentioned Haskins being featured in the PWI article on SAW. Haskins sorta, kinda gave Walker payback for the chop. Bandana choked Walker with his tie. Masters said the cheating made his stomach turn.
(commercial break)
Riggins brought up how Taylor Swift was blowing up Haskins’ cell phone, except he called her “Tyler”. Masters corrected him. Reno said, “Tyler, Swift, all of them.” Haskins went for a choke but never really got it applied. Reno said Walker was “a thick-necked individual”. Walker hit another belly-to-belly suplex and went for the running STO, but King tripped him. Haskins snapped Walker’s neck off the top rope as he jumped over the top. But Walker made Haskins miss with a slingshot leg drop. A shaky transition led a gorilla press drop by Walker and the STO. King and Bandana immediately hit the ring.
WINNER: Walker via DQ in 8:55. Match got off to a blazing start. Walker showed a lot of charisma and the crowd was really into him. Some of Haskins’ stuff looked weak. The announcing was entertaining.
A three on one mugging by DKE ensued. Walker suddenly fired up with punches all around to clear the ring.
The Grumpy’s Agent of the Week was Wanita Merritt. She handles Murray County (Columbia), and her fave part of the job is freeing people from jail. No Leah this week. Kendra Anderson hosted the segment.
They replayed the thrashing Picture Perfect (Jon Michael Worthington & Christian Jacobs) gave Ryan Genesis at Buffalo Billiards last week. Reno called it a Brentwood beatdown.
A tape Worthington sent in from an empty EWE Arena aired. Worthington said the truth was he couldn’t wrestle because he did not have medical clearance. Worthington called Genesis a glory hound, and said they took care of business the only way they could – perfectly. A fly started buzzing around Worthington’s face annoying the hell out of him. Worthington said Genesis hurt his shoulder (a slow motion replay of Picture Perfect destroying Genesis with their finisher was shown here) and he didn’t know if he could ever wrestle again. Worthington said he couldn’t get in the ring to train and couldn’t even shave. Some unseen person asked Worthington why he wasn’t wearing a sling. “I had one on before you guys got here” Worthington said. The guy asked to see it. Worthington said to get that guy out of there. Worthington asked the fans to say a special prayer for him. He shooed the fly away, then winced while clutching at his shoulder.
John Darden M.D. with an update on Ryan Genesis - Darden had the lab coat on to let us know this was official. Darden said Genesis would be out for 2-3 weeks with a strained neck and bruised ribs. He called the hit on Genesis one of the most vicious he had ever seen as a physician. Dude hasn’t seen much pro wrestling apparently. Darden said he was not treating Worthington and could not comment on the validity of his injuries.
“No Mercy” Tommy Mercer debuted in a short video where he appeared to be walking through a war zone wearing jeans and no shirt. He said he was a killing machine and there would be no mercy.
3 -- Non-title match: SAW International Champion CHASE STEVENS vs. J. P. MAGNUM
The commentary put over how popular Stevens was with the fans. Riggins said Magnum wasn’t at the same level, because Stevens would be top notch in any fed. Magnum was using brute force and giving the champion no respect. He got heat with a smack across the face on the break. Stevens popped the crowd with a knockdown shoulder tackle and a bitch slap receipt. Magnum walked it off. Back inside, Stevens got a single leg take down and slid it into a side headlock. Magnum used hair to take Stevens off his feet. Magnum put the boots to him and tried for an Irish whip, but Stevens went up & over into an armdrag. Stevens dropkicked Magnum for a two count. Stiff blows from Stevens, who kicked a field goal with Magnum’s kidney. Magnum used tights to dump Stevens out to the floor.
(commercial break)
The announce team said it had been all Magnum during the break. Magnum got a one count with a fist drop. A snap suplex was good for two. Fans started to chant “Chase”. Magnum cut off a comeback with a pumphandle slam for a close near fall. Stevens in trouble now. Stevens firing punches from his knees. Steven up with more punches. Stevens charged into a big boot and did a Nestea plunge for another near fall. Masters said Stevens must still be feeling the effects of the match with Arrick Andrews. They talked about “Merciless” Mercer coming in looking for a title shot. Stevens hulked up. They traded blows. Stevens hit a scissors kick that Magnum barely kicked out off. Stevens followed with the reverse DVD (called a modified Samoan drop) for the three count.
WINNER: Stevens in 7 minutes. Super match for showcasing Stevens as champion. His offense looked great and the crowd was with him all the way, reacting to each of moves.
Grumpy’s Most Wanted Bail Jumper was Antonio Keon Turrentine.
4 -- MARC ANTHONY vs. JOHNNY VORTEX
Reno said this was a standby match. Anthony hit the ring with “Back in Black” as his intro music. Big Johnny’s bell jumping tactic went sour in a hurry. Reno said he pulled the pin on a grenade and forgot to throw it. Anthony destroyed Vortex in rapid fashion. After leveling Vortex with a rabbit lariat, Anthony looked up to the ceiling as if he was receiving messages. Anthony then crushed Vortex with a top rope elbow for the easy win.
WINNER: Anthony in 1:20.
Anthony continued beating on Vortex, until his attention was drawn to a birthday gift bag that had been placed in the corner of the ring. Anthony pulled a framed photo out of the bag, sat down in the middle of the ring and shattered the frame by smashing it against his forehead. Anthony rocked and stared at the photo like he was in a trance.
“That looks like Hammerjack’s daughter in that picture. Who would send Marc Anthony a picture of Hammer…? And it looks like someone has been cut out of the photo. This is sick whoever sent this out, my goodness.”
Afterthoughts: I really like this show, and I suspect I would have liked it even more if I had seen it in sequence. The atmosphere of the Gallatin Civic Center was a stark contrast to the rinky dink presentation of the product at Buffalo Billiards. It reminded me of the TV tapings Smoky Mountain Wrestling did in smaller towns. If memory serves me right, the crowd was hotter for this first episode from Gallatin than the two that followed…The Most Wanted segment was a clever take off on the Grumpy’s commercials…Bandana gets it. He’s great in the role of the buffoonish big bumping heel. The transition from the interview to the impromptu match is a device SAW uses fairly frequently, and it worked well here. If I never see another match between Walker and DKE, I won’t feel deprived. When this feud started, Bush was still in the White House and Paul Adams was still managing Hammerjack…The medical update idea is a sound one. Suffice to say, Dr. Darden lacks the authority of a James Andrews or a Joe Estwanik from days gone by…The closing segment was gold. Why does Anthony still have the mystique that despite getting better as a performer, long ago left Abyss? No doubt, there are a number of right answers, but one of them is the face that Anthony is never put in the position of doing any silly blah blah blah in the ring or having a standard wrestling match or doing anything remotely normal…The Worthington video was interesting. I love the way he used the words “honestly” and “truthfully” like he was lying through is teeth about something that is actually halfway true (he does not have medical clearance but it has nothing to do with his shoulder). It’s similar to the fake amnesia angle they did with Worthington and Emerson. Playing on the idea that he has a rep for faking injuries I guess. The fly was an inside joke based on a previous promo where a fly landed on Worthington’s nose…Reno was on his game for this one. It may have been the best commentary by the Riggins/Masters team to date…Definitely a step in the right direction.
