Larry Goodman sent this report in:
Showtime All-star Wrestling ? Episode 83
Airing on March 21, 2009 in Nashville on Comcast 74 and WKRP in Lebanon (TN)
Taped on February 13, 2009 at the SAW Mill in Millersville, Tn
LAST WEEK?a replay of the segment where Derrick King gave Vordell Walker a second chance to join Derrick King Enterprises. Walker gave the wrong answer. J. T. Stahr spit on him, Sister O?Feelya raked Walkers? eyes (?and she just got her nails done, too?). Long story short, Walker got his ass beat.
Michael Graham and Reno Riggins previewed today’s show from ringside.
1 ? J.T. STAHR (with Derrick King and Sister O?Feelya) vs. VORDELL WALKER
Reno said King wasn?t used to being told no. ?He says when he takes women out on dates, they don?t say no.? Walker was clearly favoring his neck. They did a deal where Stahr went for a leapfrog, and Walker stuck his knee out allowing Stahr to give himself a reverse atomic drop. Stahr tried to return the favor, but Walker sat down on Stahr’s knee like he was Santa Claus, and popped him with a forearm. Stahr ducked a high kick and did something. to Walker. They both went down. It was ugly. Stahr went right to work on the neck. Stahr cut off Walker’s comeback with a dropkick that liked to have taken his head off. King applauded. Walker’s neck gave out on a suplex attempt. Stahr whiffed on a kick to the head. Walker sold it for a two count. (Commercial break) Walker with another comeback cut off by a huge spinebuster slam for a near fall. King choked Walker. Stahr taunted Walker and smacked his face. Walker made a major comeback. King hit a step up knee. Walker answered with a belly to belly suplex. Walker ducked Stahr’s curbstomp and nailed him with a flying roundhouse. STO! O?Feelya and King grabbed Stahr’s far leg, but Walker had it hooked and they couldn?t get it onto the ropes. The ref got in King’s face. Meanwhile, O?Feelya passed one of her high heels to Stahr. Bingo. Reno called it a three-on-one fastbreak.
WINNER: Stahr via use of Sister O?Feelya’s high heel shoe at 6:28. A combination of really cool stuff and badly botched spots, there was no middle ground in this match. The potential is there for some great matches once they get the kinks worked out.
Commissioner Freddie Morton said the SAW BOD was forced to vacate the tag titles because High Society had been unable to defend within the 30 day limit. Morton announced an 8 team tournament to determine the new champions with first round matches to take place next week.
2 ? ?Maniac? MARC ANTHONY vs. TIM DONST
Tim Donst out wearing amateur headgear and Mt. Rushmore on his unitard. Anthony attacked before the bell and destroyed him. Donst took a lariat without protecting himself one iota. Anthony donned the headgear and headbutted Donst with it. Anthony finished him with the Atomic Bomb.
WINNER: Anthony in 2:10 via top rope elbow (The Atomic Bomb). Talk about a squash. This was gold. Anthony pitched a no hitter.
Anthony laid Donst out on a table at ringside and ascended to the top rope. ?Boogie Woogie Boy? Gary Valiant ran out with a barbed wire baseball bat. A half dozen security folks did their best to contain him. Boogie was decked out in camouflage and had his face painted. Anthony left the ring. There was a dueling chant of sorts here with some fans chanting ?Boogie? and others doing Anthony’s trademark barking. Hot segment.
Dan Masters approached Boogie like he was taking his life in his hands. ?Marc Anthony, you want to play war. Well, guess what? The war has just begun.?
3 ? RICK SANTEL (with Paul Adams) vs. FLASH FLANAGAN
Reno said he would give Flanagan the edge if not for the presence of Adams. He mentioned Flanagan getting his start in Circle City Wrestling. Flanagan stayed a step ahead of Santel’s skullduggery in the opening minutes. He kept going back to Santel’s arm. Adams grabbed at Flanagan’s leg to distract and Santel sent him through the ropes with a knee to the back. Adams choked Flanagan with the towel, then switched to fanning him with it as the ref turned around. Santel attacked Flanagan’s lower back with a vengeance. He applied a surfboard. Flanagan hit an atomic drop but Santel used a drop toehold to send Flanagan’s head into the turnbuckle for a two count. Santel pulled Flanagan to centering and reapplied a surfboard. The crowd got vocal for Flanagan. Flanagan on the comeback. Death Valley Driver! Adams jumped onto the ring apron to distract the ref, and Young slid into the ring with a spear on Flanagan. Santel covered. 1…2..No! Flanagan rolled a shoulder. Crowd sensing a Flanagan win. Flanagan hit the springboard legdrop, and Douglas attacked him for the DQ.
WINNER: Flanagan via DQ due to outside interference at 9:18. A perfectly solid match. If Flanagan was going to lose, which only made sense, this was the way to do it.
A-Team was giving Flanagan a 3-on-1 beatdown when Chase Stevens and Arrick Andrews hit the ring. Santel and Douglas took a powder. As Andrews was handing Young his ass, Senior Offical Mark Herron called for the bell.
4 ? ARRICK ?The Dragon? ANDREWS vs. ?The Problem Solver? DAVID YOUNG (with Paul Adams
Young took a backdrop and lariat and the crowd was loving it. Riggins said this was total nonstop action. Young bailed to commiserate with Adams. Young raked Andrews? eyes on the break and pounded away on him. Andrews nailed Young with a spinning heel kick to the mush. Adams distracted and Young clubbed him between the shoulder blades. Young hit a powerslam for a long two count. Young tossed Andrews out of the ring. The cut to a great close up of Andrews trying to pull himself off the floor. Young gave Andrews a shot into the announcer’s table and flung him into the post. Young rolled Andrews to midring for the cover, and Andrews kicked out at 2 and 7/8. Adams and Young worked in tandem to shut down Andrews? air supply. Reno compared Young to Jim Neidhart and said he had a powerlifiter type body ? a kind way of saying he’s got a gut. Young applied the sleeper. Riggins compared it to a full court press. Reno must have had March Madness on the brain. Andrews showed life. That was all the fans needed. Andrews fed off the energy with a series of flying lariats. He hit the floatover bulldog. Predictably, Adams was up to distract, and there was Hammerjack ready to step through the ropes on the other side. But Hammerjack hesitated, then walked around the ring and pulled Adams down. The crowd went into a frenzy. Andrews hit the Dragon’s Curse on Young for the pin. Adams shoved Hammer. It pushed him over the limit. Hammerjack threw Adams to the wolves. Or the Dragon, as Graham pointed out. Andrews was ready and waiting with the Wham Bam Thank You Ma?am for a blow-the-roof-off pop.
WINNER: Andrews in 9:03 with the Dragon’s Curse. Match was fine, the finish was awesome, and the super heated crowd made everything that much better. One for the SAW highlight reel.
Andrews pointed at Hammerjack on the ramp. They cut to a close up of Hammerjack looking back at Andrews before he disappeared through the curtain.
Random Thoughts: This was a terrific show. The opening shot of King sucked me in and it was a wild ride right through to the closing shot of Hammerjack. For long time viewers, the combo of Hammerjack’s turn and Adams laid out by Andrews? finisher is about as good as it gets. The seeds for Hammerjack’s turn were first planted months ago. It was a forgone conclusion after Adams abandoned him in the Empty Arena. It was all about the anticipation of the moment. The beauty of it is this: As satisfying an ending as it was, it still left me wondering what’s next? The segue from the Flanagan/Santel match right into the main worked beautifully. It’s another case of a gimmick that hasn?t been overdone in SAW, so it felt fresh. The booking has done right by Flanagan. They kept him strong with having him lose only through a ridiculous amount of interference. Young, on the other hand, is looking vaguely impotent at this point. Flanagan kicked out his spear (at least it wasn?t the spinebuster) and he couldn?t beat Andrews despite all of Adams? chicanery?I thought the Anthony/Boogie segment was just right. Boogie spoiled Anthony’s fun and seized the upper hand, psychologically speaking, but Anthony didn?t turn coward, which would be the ruination of his character. It came across like a strategic retreat?There was something awesome about seeing a CHIKARA guy come in to do the job for Anthony.