From Larry Goodman: Peachstate Wrestling Alliance returned to action with at the VFW Fairgrounds in Carrollton, GA with one of the bes...
From Larry Goodman:
Peachstate Wrestling Alliance returned to action with at the VFW Fairgrounds in Carrollton, GA with one of the best shows I've had the pleasure of seeing the company put on.
PWA has always been way more about the stories than the quality of the wrestling. That said, the wrestling was a whole lot better with the additions of The Empire, Jeremy Vain and Fred Yehi.
But the stories are better than ever. One of the keys is that PWA now features stories plural. The singular focus on the Exotics at the expense of everything else is a thing of the past. And the other stories are clicking. There were multiple magical moments that are stuff pro wrestling should be made of.
Miracle of miracles, the show clocked in at 2 and 1/2 hours instead of the usual 3 hours plus marathon. PWA has cut back to one intermission. The crowd never ran out of gas.
Attendance was 150, about half of what PWA usually draws. It was a weird anomaly that defies explanation. There was not the usual competition from UIW. If anything, rainy days usually increase attendance. PWA was coming off a show two weeks ago featuring an appearance by Hacksaw Jim Duggan, but it's hard to fathom how that would have hurt the crowd last night.
(1) Fred Yehi defeated Jeremy Vain via submission in 12:55. Modest heat for Vain's entrance since the crowd didn't know him. The "You're So Vain" theme music would have helped. Vain was wary of Yehi's wrestling acumen. Vain took a great face bump off a drop toe hold and rolled out of the ring. Back inside, Vain slapped Yehi's face and took a flatback bump for Yehi's receipt. Yehi reeled off a series of near falls. Yehi flew into the post when Vain stepped aside and the match took a 180 turn. Vain was relentless on Yehi's arm. Yehi is getting over well at PWA and had the crowd chanting his name. Yehi rallied, hitting a german suplex for a close near fall. Vain connected with a top rope elbow, but Yehi kicked out prompting Vain to get up close and personal with referee Jeremy Black. Yehi came to life, hitting his flatliner variant floated into the Koji Clutch for the submission. The time calls by Commissioner Shane Noles are approximations so Vain's tap out came after Noles gave the "one minute to go" call. This was a good match elevated by a stellar finish.
Double Dragons entered the ring for the next match. Never at a loss for words, Ultimate Dragon #1 (the original) told Commissioner Shane Noles that he would hate to be him knowing that he had the Dragons in his life because they were taking over PWA. Empire made their way to the ring. I'm at a loss for words to describe Empire's entrance. Dragon said this was a wrestling show not Soul Train, and if they played the Shaft theme again they could walk back on out of there. Dewitt Dawson said Dragons had bit off more than they could chew twice over -- "We ain't seein' double. All you're going to be seein' is trouble and hard times."
(2) Double Dragons (Ultimate Dragon #1 & #2) vs. The Empire (Shane Marx & Casey Kincaid with Dewitt Dawson) was rules a double count out at 14:25. Dragon #2 has more size and muscularity than the original. Marx has added some table weight since the last time I saw him in the ring. Fun match. Dragons and Empire tried to outdo each other with underhanded tactics. Oodles of cheating and double teaming behind the ref's back. If anything, the crowd shaded more towards Empire. The match disintegrated into chaos with all four evildoers going at it. They brawled on the outside until Tristan counted them out. The finish works better if the ref is more animated about the breakdown and more authoritative with his 10 count than referee Tristan Michaels was here.
The brawl continued after the match until refs and security separated the two teams. I expected a "let them fight" chant but it didn't happen. Dragons did their catch phrase. "In case you didn't notice. We have arrived."
Jean Pierre entered the ring for the tag title match wrapped in the French flag. Pierre said the French Fantastics (Pierre & Romeo Vezerian) were the greatest thing in pro wrestling since La Resistance. The reason behind Romeo's absence was left to the imagination. Instead, out came Tommy Too Much of the Exotic Ones. TTM said he found out his partner Stoney Hooker had received a certified letter from Noles stating that the show was cancelled (Hey Stoney, all you had to do was check the show listings on blogspot.gwhnewsandnotes.com). TTM said Noles didn't want any form of the Exotics in PWA (Noles had previously ruled that Simon Sermon could not compete in tag matches and it was TTM & Hooker that lost the tag titles), and he would only wrestle as Pierre's partner under his own terms. Noles agreed that if TTM won the fall, Exotics would be the tag champions and if Pierre won the fall, French Fantastics would be the champions.
Rick Michaels did the firebreathing gimmick. With the building in pitch blackness, it was a spectacular moment.
(3) PWA Tag Team Champions Rick Michaels & Johnny Swinger vs. Jean Pierre & Tommy Too Much ended with no decision and the titles held up at 8:27. Rick attacked TTM before the bell, and the champions had their way with the challengers. As with Dragons in match #2, the tag team format disguised Pierre's offensive limitations. He's a willing and able and bumper though. The heels eventually got the upper hand on Swinger. The heat amped up when Rick made a legal tag that the ref didn't see. Pierre had Swinger pinned but TTM broke it up. TTM caused referee Black to get bumped. TTM grabbed the Exotics' spray can. As TTM and Rick struggled for control of the can, Black got sprayed in the face. TTM clocked Michaels with the can and a blinded Black made the three count. The Exotics have a a small share of supporters and they popped for the finish.
The postmatch turned out to be terrific angle. Rick somehow convinced Black that he scored the pin. Black raised the champions' hands. Simon Sermon dragged, and I mean DRAGGED referee Tristan into the ring to tell Black that TTM won the match. Confusion reigned with Black declaring the champions as the winner and Tristan sticking to his guns about what really happened. Noles ordered a rematch for October 19. That brought the unbeaten Empire out to demand the title shot. Dragons came out and said they hadn't been beaten either. Pierre said French Fantastics should get the match. Noles noted that the fans were split (totally true) and ordered a tag team tournament so everyone could get a shot. Noles said he was also holding up the titles due to the conflict about the decision in the match. Michaels said possession was 9/10ths of the law. "And I know the law, so if you want the titles, come get 'em." And off the champions went with the belts in tow. Tremendous stuff and super heated. The heat built as each team had their say, right to Noles announcement of a tag teamthe tournament, and all of teams had a share of fan support. Out of nowhere, PWA has a formidable tag team division (Washington Bullets, who tore the house down vs. Empire at the September 7 show, are also in the tournament).
(4) Ace Haven (with Amy Haven) defeated Mike Jackson in a no count out match at 14:35. Amy ordered the fans to stand up and show respect for best wrestler in the state of Georgia. You know how that went over. Ace grabbed the mic out of Noles' hand and complained about the no count out stip being a conspiracy. "I've never been poultry before in my life." Jackson came out wearing a blonde wig. They weren't in the same zip code on the first few spots but it got better as they went along. In any case, the quality of the work was a non-issue because the crowd buys this story with a passion. Ace was getting his skinny ass handed to him. He kept trying to run only to be hauled back by Jackson. At one point, referee Tristan tried to block the door to the dressing room. Jackson bounced Ace hard off the wall. Back inside, Jackson gave Ace a pair of hair mares. Jackson did the old school ropes walk, substituting a hair lock for the usual knuckle lock. Ace capitalized on distraction by Amy, working over Jackson's arm with repeated help of from Amy. She's one big woman. Jackson kicked out of a top rope leg drop. Ace missed a swanton bomb and it was comeback time. Jackson had Ace pinned after a neckbreaker. Amy jumped up to divert the ref's attention. Jackson yanked the ref out of the way, and Amy splashed a liquid substance into Jackson's eyes. Jackson was a sitting duck for Haven's springboard kick. The finish got huge heat.
Noles said Amy got involved countless times and that doesn't wash in PWA. Noles booked Amy for a handicap match with husband Ace vs. Jackson for October 19.
(5) Georgia Junior Champion Zach Daniels defeated PWA Heritage Champion Simon Sermon to retain his title at 4:40 of the second restart. Match started as title vs. title but it didn't end up that way. This was a brawl. Daniels attacked before Simon got his robe off. Sermon was on the run and he was taking a beating. Sermon finally resorted to hiding behind the referee. Daniels hesitated and Sermon poked him in the eyes. Simon continually cut off his comebacks, but Daniels was frustrating Sermon with his resiliency. In the final minute, Daniels got near falls with a powerslam and a flying ass and was pounding Sermon from the mount when the 15 minute time limit expired at 12:54. After teasing time limit draws in every match, this was the perfect spot to pull the trigger on it.
Noles ordered 5 more minutes. This crowd really got going for Daniels, and Daniels was going to town on Sermon. They brawled their way up the aisle until referee Tristan counted them out at 1:27.
Noles said we're not going home like that and ordered another restart with no count out. Sermon was awesome selling the exhaustion of it all. Sermon refused to defend his title again for these people's entertainment. Daniels said you won't but I will and started wailing away on Sermon, who looked to be out on his feet. Sermon begged for mercy...and shoved the ref into Daniels. Just as Sermon had Daniels positioned for the Manchester Driver, Rick came to ringside and breathed a fireball in Sermon's direction. Sermon stopped in his track and Daniels rolled him up. The fireball finish was a great idea but not as dramatic with the lights on. A lights off/lights on deal like Anarchy does with Mikael Judas might have done the trick.
TTM hit the ring and the Exotics attacked Rick and Daniels. Sermon nailed the both of them with belt shots. The Exotic dragged Michaels up onto the stage. Sermon said Rick was not the Original Chosen One. "You're an Exotic until the day you die or I say your dead." Sermon said they were going to make him beautiful.
The Exotic tarred and feathered Rick with Hershey syrup and Mardi Gras feathers. Rick was a disgusting heap of mess, and did everything in his power to look as pitiful as possible. Sending fans home with an image of such raw power locked in their minds pays dividends.
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