----Last night was a big show for OVW and tonight is the TV tapings.
----Trent Van Drisse @ Mid-Southern Message Board sent along the following report from last night's "Homecoming" show. They taped TV tonight, so we should have that report up sometime later this week. They did not use Melton last night, but I will be surprised if they did not use him tonight.
Ohio Valley Wrestling presented a show called "Homecoming III" last night at a jam packed Davis arena in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the first alumni type OVW show I've been able to attend, and from the title it's obviously the third one. Heh. These shows are put together by Nick Dinsmore and Rob Conway, with Danny Davis involved too I'm sure. They do a good job of promoting these, last night was a standing room only sell out of around 500 fans, many of whom were sitting around me are not people that go to wrestling shows at all. I love how the Davis arena looks when it's packed. It's like the perfect sized venue for this type of stuff. Most in the crowd were there to see the pro wrestling debut of a man named Michael Hayes, who is a legit Iraq and Afghanistan war hero. He lost his left leg in the war.
Gilbert Corsey, Paredyse, and Kenny Bolin did the announcing for the upcoming DVD release of this show. Corsey also did the ring announcing from the desk. Since Bolin is the "King" of OVW, Paredyse said he was the "Homecoming Queen" tonight.
I apologize in advance if I have any of the names of the wrestlers wrong in this report. I've only been attending OVW shows on a regular basis for less than a year now, and it was a bit hard to hear the ring announcing where I was sitting, and with the large crowd making noise, but I did my best.
1. Mr. Black beat Dynamite Derrick
Black, also known as Jack Black, is a huge, huge man. Billed at 530 pounds, and I think he's at least that. Black threw his weight around, of course, but Derrick came back and actually knocked Black off his feet a few times. Black won with a sidewalk slam. Fun opener.
2. Mad Man Pondo & Shiloh Jones beat The American Assassin & Scorpion
I don't think you could find two more poorly matched up tag teams if you looked high and low. Just both totally random slapped together pairings that made no sense. Scorpion I think is the guy who also works as Sebastian Stardust. He looked really pitiful here. He looked like an emaciated Jeff Hardy wearing Sting face paint. He was announced at 200 pounds, which drew open laughs from the crowd, and this was supposed to be the babyface team. It took him forever just to come out of the curtain. The finish saw Pondo hit the masked American Assassin in the head with his stop sign to get the win, and bring the bout to a merciful conclusion. Bad match. I did like Shiloh Jones though, too bad he wasn't in there with someone else.
3. Vaughn Lilas w/Miss Hollywood beat Derrick King w/Taryn Shay
Lilas is a former OVW heavyweight champion. Tall dude, and in good shape. I like his look. Derrick King just keeps rolling along. It's like pro wrestling just comes so easy for him. King stalled early, then did his trademark comedy, and screaming. Miss Hollywood and Taryn Shay got into a cat fight, which popped the crowd, right in front of referee Joe Wheeler, who did nothing about it, which amused me. Miss Hollywood is a teeny, tiny little lady with a boob job. Meanwhile, Lilas grabbed King in a cravat, and gave him a headbutt while holding the cravat for the win. This was decent.
4. "Ironman" Rob Conway beat SK Eastlake
Conway had a live band, called Sacred Sorrow, play his entrance music, which was of course Ironman by Black Sabbath. The band was set up in front of the babyface entrance, so all the wrestlers came out of the same entrance tonight. Conway is still in fantastic shape. Eastland attacked Conway on the floor as he made his way around the arena. Fun, fast paced match ending with Conway hooked Eastlake's feet on the top rope and then twisted and slammed him down. Eastlake looked like a guy who was really enjoying just being there.
Sacred Sorrow played during the Intermission. They're a punk/rock-n-roll band. Not bad at all.
They set a ladder up in the ring, and the current OVW champion "Mr. Media" Cliff Compton, along with Christian Mascagni came out, to a tepid reaction at best. Compton plugged the triple threat ladder match he's going to be in at the March 5th Saturday Night Special, as well as plugging the weekly Wednesday night OVW TV tapings. Compton mentioned the lack of reaction to him, and seemed legit miffed about it. He is an OVW alumni himself, having worked here in the past, and in the WWE, as Domino, but nobody seemed to care much about him here. It seemed odd. Like I said, many in the crowd tonight don't attend wrestling shows, but I did hear some people around me saying they might bring their kids to the TV tapings, so maybe they will get some new business out of this show. It was also hinted later that some of the OVW alumni on this show might be sticking around and be a part of tonights OVW TV taping.
5. Nazzy Nazz beat Epiphany w/Mr B in the femme fatale bodyslam challenge
Paredyse was the special referee for this. Epiphany, a large black lady wrestler, is usually a face here, but she was a heel tonight, paired with heel manager Mr. B for no apparent reason. Nazzy Nazz is a huge redheaded girl, who is a student of Nick Dinsmore. She looks to be 350 pounds at least legit, if not 400. Nazz had a sizable, no pun intended, cheering section in the crowd. Epiphany and Nazz wrestled awhile, and it wasn't that bad, not good either, but better than I was expecting, which was nothing. The finish saw Paredyse kiss Epiphany, and then Nazz slammed her for the win. Nazz had trouble getting her up, but finally did.
6. Michael Hayes beat Nick Dinsmore
This is what the people came to see. To say that the crowd was white hot for the one legged Iraq and Afghanistan war hero Michael Hayes would be an understatement. He was crazy over. Dinsmore got booed coming out, but took the mic and said he has huge respect for Hayes, but said he wouldn't go easy on him. Hayes and Dinsmore shook hands. Tons of chants for Hayes from the crowd, one chant that kept coming up was "Quincy", and some people had a sign that was a picture of a dog, so I don't know if "Qunicy" was/is Hayes' dog, or something totally different. Hayes gets around really well on his artificial left leg, and wrestled with it on, at least for some of the match. The thigh part of his artificial leg was actually camouflage colored. His right leg seems fully functional, but is badly scarred. Back and forth match for awhile, with Dimsnore somewhat dominating. I thought Hayes looked decent in there for his first pro match, I liked the way he was selling, though it was surreal watching a guy wrestle on an artificial leg. Dismore actually put Hayes in a Texas Cloverleaf with the artificial leg, and I don't know if this was planned or not, but the leg came off, and the ref stood it up in the corner. Sure added even more sympathy to the match, watching Dismore beat on a literal one legged man. Hayes got up on his one leg and gave Dinsmore a Diamond Cutter, and crawled dramatically towards his artificial leg in the corner. The 10 minute time limit ran down, and ran out as Dismmore held Hayes in a full nelson. The fans, of course chanted for 5 more minutes, which was granted. Hayes put his leg back on, but Dismore gave Hayes a Fisherman's Suplex, and the leg came off again, and may have hit Dismore in the face, he sold it like it did anyhow. Hayes put the leg on yet again, and raised it as Dismore came off the top rope towards him, so Dismore crashed into the fake leg. Hayes then crawled on top of Dinsmore for the win, and the crowd went bananas. Quite a scene really. Dinsmore was also on Bryan Alvarez' Figure Four Daily Internet radio show yesterday(Tuesday) talking OVW.
7. Mickey won a battle royal
They took another short intermission, and then the band Sacred Sorrow came out to play again, but current OVW wrestler Elvis came out, and got in the ring knocking the band using some free form, Hillbilly rap of his own, and challenged the lead singer of the band, Blake Lockman, to get in the ring and fight him. Lockman, another student of Nick Dismore, got in the ring, did some spots with Elvis, then the ring filled up with wrestlers and the battle royal was on. All the guys on the show were in it, plus some others. Vocalist Lockman lasted quite awhile, but was finally thrown out. The gigantic Mr. Black was the first one actually out as several ganged up to get rid of him. Another student, named Mickey, came out with Dismore, and Dinsmore instructed him to just stay in the corner, which Mickey did for much of the battle royal, though he did get involved in a few spots, but mostly just stayed in a corner close to Dismore. Mickey doesn't look like he could beat anyone, and often has a simpleton like, yet sly in a way, grin plastered on his face, and a hair cut that looks like the Beatles on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It came down to five left, including Mickey, two of which were Dismore and Conway, and I thought, or was maybe just hoping, it would come down to Dinsmore vs Conway, but then Conway was eliminated. Mickey got the win when Dismore, and other two guys left, were all eliminated together. I guess it was a feel good type of a moment, as some in the crowd were cheering for the simple and totally unintimidating looking Mickey, but I thought it was kinda lame myself. But then again, I hate most battle royals anyhow. I don't think there was even any worked prize money awarded here, nothing of the sort was mentioned.
