Photo courtesy of Corey Tatum From Larry Goodman: The Superstars of Wrestling Fanfest returned to Rome, Georgia with the third in t...
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| Photo courtesy of Corey Tatum |
The Superstars of Wrestling Fanfest returned to Rome, Georgia with the third in their series of annual events. The wrestling part was a home run in terms of delivering the show their fans wanted.
The by-the-numbers booking worked beautifully for this situation. The legends and superstars were all showcased in the best light. This year’s show also provided the best pure action of any of the Superstar events in the form of Davey Richards vs. Jimmy Rave, a three way with Caleb Konley vs. John Skyler vs. Corey Hollis, Carlito vs. Chip Day and the hardcore main event between Tommy Dreamer and Stevie Richards. The local indy guys were spread across the show and kept their stuff short so as not to impede the momentum. The excessive manager interference got repetitious, but was not a major problem in the overall scheme of things.
The event ran like a well-oiled machine was over in 2 and ½ hours, which was a striking and welcome contrast to last year’s marathon event.
Attendance at the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds was 600+, standing room only. I really liked the venue, an open air pavilion. It was perfect fall night for an outdoor show. The lighting was outstanding.
The show drew an old school type crowd – popping huge for the legends doing their signature spots, hot at the heels but not in a smart ass way, and they were fairly discerning about the wrestling.
Preshow: Terry Lawler & Crash Test Dummy defeated Frenchy Riviera & Arden (with “Playboy” Phil Heffner). Heffner turned babyface during the match. Frencby decked Heffner and was about to use a chair on Lawler when former WCW star Air Paris hit the ring in street clothes. The reunited Team Extreme (Lawler & Paris) gave Riviera a double DDT and CTD pinned him with a diving headbutt.
(1) Gunner & Cody Roberts & Drew Adler & Dustin Bozworth defeated P Dog (Mike Posey) & Owen Knight & Beautiful Bald Besties (Michael Stevens & Zac Edwards (with Merica) in 8:30. Oscar from Man on a Mission rapped. P Dog’s response had more of an edge to it than usual. That brought Ron Simmons out at a loss for words…except for one, which got a big pop. Merica got involved to start heat on Adler. A train of big moves ended with Gunner spearing Knight for the win. A totally solid opener.
(2) Lamar Philips (with Lionel Lucas Lazarus) defeated Chris Ganz in 7:25. Empire ring announcer Gabe Walters fainted in the ring as he attempted to introduce the match. Turned out he was OK as he stayed at the announce table for the rest of the show. Lazarus cut a promo hyping his Lazzercise exercise system complete with VHS tape. Lazarus hit Ganz with the VHS behind the ref’s back, and Philips pinned him with a spinebuster. A passable match, clearly not at the level of the opener. The finish was a groaner.
Superstars of Wrestling CEO Shawn Ambrose interviewed Nikita Koloff, who joked that his English had improved a lot since his wrestling days. Koloff broke out his Nikita voice for a bit. Heffner rudely interrupted the proceedings. Ambrose noted that Heffner was a perennial thorn in his side. Heffner said Ambrose had taken the Fanfest from the nicest building in Georgia and brought it down to fairgrounds next to cow dung. The insults continued until Nikita laid Heffner out with the Sickle, drawing a huge pop. Nikita talked about becoming a born again Christian and said he was ministering in Dalton, Georgia on Sunday morning.
(3) FIP Champion Caleb Konley defeated Corey Hollis and John Skyler in 10:56. Konley hails from nearby Cartersville and got his start in Georgia as Black Pegasus. Skyler dominated in the early going and was getting a ton of heat. There was boatload of cool spots in this match. Skyler had Hollis in the Indian Deathlock when Konley hit a springboard moonsault and all three were down. Konley countered Skyler’s sliced bread with a tombstone piledriver. Hollis broke it up and hit a standing sliced bread on Konley for a near fall. Hollis tried for a top rope rana, but Konley rolled through, hit a buckle bomb and finished Hollis with a fireman's carry Michinoku Driver. Best match of the show and the crowd fully appreciated what they were seeing.
(4) Sunny Daze (with Dr. Shane Gamie) defeated Chris Lightning via submission in 7:34. Daze is DDP Yoga disciple James Dylan doing a gimmick as a deranged mental patient. Lightning had Daze pinned with a sliced bread, but the good doctor put Daze’s foot on the ropes. Gamie then distracted referee Spanky Emerson, allowing Daze to use the Gamie’s cane on Lightning’s throat, and apply a cobra clutch. They had a tough act to follow, and the crowd took it for what was and didn’t get overly excited.
Postmatch, Daze taunted the crowd and said enough of the old guys in the back. That brought Diamond Dallas Page out to the biggest pop thus far. Page smacked the crap out of Daze's smart mouth and teased a DDT before laying him out with the Diamond Cutter. Dr. Gamie received the same treatment. Page put the "Resurrection of Jake the Snake" documentary over, mentioning that Steve Austin said it made a tear roll down his cheek.
(5) Priscilla Kelly (with Chip Day) defeated Kiera Hogan in 5:45. While these two women still have a way to go in the ring, they have a come a long way in a very short time. Kelly appeared to nail Hogan right in the mouth with a basement dropkick. Hogan tried for a running bulldog, but Kelly shoved her off. Day tripped Hogan up and she was pinned by Kelly.
Day was about to piledrive Kiera when Carlito hit the ring for a big pop. As Carlito helped Kiera from the ring, Day attacked from behind leading to…
(6) Carlito defeated Chip Day (with Priscilla Kelly) in 9:51. The boo birds were out for Day when he distracted the ref so Kelly could choke Carlito. Day delivered a stiff kick from the apron and implored the ref to count Carlito out. Day did insolent girl spot – pulling on Carlito’s arms while standing on his Afro. Carlito mounted a full-fledged comeback with the crowd behind him. Kelly jumped on the apron, but Hogan pulled her down and started wailing on her. The girls got in the ring. Day went to spit the apple in to Hogan’s eyes. Kelly got in instead, and Carlito hi the backcracker on Day for the pin. Good match. Day got heat. Carlito worked hard.
Postmatch, Carlito took a curious look at Kiera’s booty. Can’t fault him there.
(7) “The Butcher” Bobby Hayes defeated Murder One (with Steve Dave) via DQ in 4:15. Dave said Murder was 6-6, 260 and a former NWA World Tag Team Champion. He was correct for the most part. Seasoned veterans that knew to keep it short, do just what was needed and nothing more. A brawl from the get go. Hayes leveled Murder with a lariat, and Dave jumped in to break up the pin.
Postmatch, Hayes (who grew up in Rome) decked Dave and told Murder to bring his butt to UIW in Temple on October 31 and they would finish it there.
(8) Jimmy Rave defeated Davey Richards to retain the Georgia Wrestling Crown in 17:50. Angelina Love accompanied Davey but did not stay at ringside. After absorbing 5 minutes of pure hell from Davey, Rave used the ref as a shield to get the upper hand. Rave countered a figure four with a poke to the eyes. Rave delivered the STO on the ring frame with Davey beating the 10 count at the last split second. Davey hit a superplex, and Rave had to grab the ropes to avoid being pinned. Davey hit the double stomp (that he tried for early on and missed) but Rave kicked out. Davey got the figure four applied and Rave made the ropes. Referee Emerson got bumped. Rave went for a belt shot. Davey ducked it and got the figure four locked in again. Rave tapped but Emerson was still down. Davey revived Emerson and Rave caught him with an inside cradle. It was the quality wrestling match as you would expect from these two.
(9) Tommy Dreamer defeated Stevie Richards in an Extreme Rules Match in 12:08. Guest ring announcer “Crying Wrestling Fan” Dave Wills did his “it’s still real to me” catch phrase. Stevie and Dreamer both came to the ring with kendo stick. Stevie is in amazing shape. They traded holds early on. Dreamer busted out the flip, flip and fly and got a Dusty chant. They brawled into the crowd and made a nasty mess dumping trash barrels all over each other. Dreamer rang the bell on Richards’ nuts. Stevie returned the favor. Dreamer threatened to gouge Richards’ eye out with a screwdriver. Stevie worked over Dreamer’s knee and got the figure four. The crowd chanted “Tommy”. Dreamer rallied back. He bit Stevie and said it tasted like hair gel. Stevie gave Dreamer the drop toe hold onto a chair ala Raven and brought a table into the ring. The crowd popped for the table. Stevie used the kendo stick on Dreamer’s knee, but Dreamer ended up using the stick for the side Russian legsweep and put Stevie through the table with a Death Valley Driver. Fairly safe as hardcore matches go, while still giving the fans everything they wanted out of the match and sending them home happy.
Afterward, Dreamer said October 28 would mark his 26th anniversary as a pro wrestler, and it was all he ever wanted to do from when he was 9 years old watching Georgia Championship Wrestling.
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