From Larry Goodman: Why We Wrestle had a successful grand opening show with “Year Zero”, as they kicked off the Heavyweight Champions...
Why We Wrestle had a successful grand opening show with “Year Zero”, as they kicked off the Heavyweight Championship tournament that will be the focus of their events all the way through Hardcore Hell in March. Kory Chavis, Seth DeLay and Kevin Blue all advanced to the second round.
The big story though, was the surprise departure of Shadow Jackson after 14 years as one the most popular wrestlers the venue has ever seen. Jackson is done after coming out on the short end of a hastily added loser leaves stipulation to his main event match vs. Blue. Jackson’s farewell speech was as real as it gets.
The storytelling on this show was exceedingly strong, especially considering all of the talent cancellations WWW and booker Todd Sexton had to overcome. Masada, Tank, and Ace Rockwell were lost from the tournament. The talk segments were compelling and there were more of them. The show didn't have a truly great match, although several were quite good. None of them were problematic.
I wondered how far the WWW presentation would stray from what the Church has been accustomed to. Turns out the most radical change is the name. WWW is making a concerted effort to incorporate the Wildside/Anarchy history into their product. Yet it is different enough to feel fresh and provide intrigue as to where they are going with things.
Charles Anschutz and Cornelia wrestling were strange bedfellows. There was no synergy and too many crosscurrents. That’s not to point fingers. It was what it was. Marriages fail despite the best intentions. It’s obviously way early to draw any conclusions, but first blush - WWW feels like the natural evolution of wrestling at the Church.
Attendance was 130. A lot of the Anarchy regulars were there but WWW appears to have attracted a good number of newcomers. Can WWW keep them coming back? Time will tell. Clearly, they enjoyed what they were seeing at “Year Zero”.
The new elevated entrance ramp running down the center is in place. The ring now has an Oakland Raiders color scheme with black turnbuckles and silver ropes. The show was taped using two camera. Jonathan Feltner did solo commentary. The refs were Dee Byers, Triston Michaels and Kevin Pierce. Former Anarchy owner Franklin Dove was in the house.
The only major operations issue was cars getting stuck in the mud due to all the rain.
(1) Slim J defeated Troy Alexander in 5:40. Slim came out rapping and got a big response. This was a teacher-student match. Alexander looks the part of a pro wrestler and is fundamentally sound for his limited level of experience. His teacher wouldn’t have it any other way. At first, Alexander didn’t give the fans much to go on about his character, but he got the cocky attitude going once he got the advantage. Alexander had Screwdriver on the Rocks scouted, but the flying reverse DDT did the trick.
(2) BJ Hancock defeated Chris Spectra in 9:47. After an early barrage of offensive from Spectra, Hancock went to the apron to regroup. Instead of using the clichéd hotshot takeover spot, Hancock pulled Spectra’s head through the ropes into his knee and followed up with a slingshot elbow drop. Spectra used a nice pumphandle sitout slam for a near fall. Both men escaped the other guy’s finisher leading to battle of backslides. Spectra won the battle but lost the war, as Hancock kicked out and finished Spectra with the piledriver. Good match. Hancock on a regular basis would be a major boost to the roster. and this was the best singles match I’ve seen from Spectra.
Hancock said the tournament was nothing but a sham since he wasn’t in it. Since Todd Sexton’s scheduled opponent (Jimmy Rave) had to cancel and Sexton had never beaten him, Hancock said he wanted the spot.
WWW’s “Head of Production” Dany Only addressed the crowd. Only called attention to newly installed set of king-sized photos hung over the bleachers – Bill Behrens, Slim J, Jeff G. Bailey and Reverend Dan Wilson -- calling it their Mr. Rushmore. Only said other had gone further, but those four were arguably the most beneficial to the Church of Southern Wrestling. Only said that since the “Year Zero” card was put together two and half months ago, nine performers had backed out for various reasons. Rockwell was not there to face Kory Chavis due to a family emergency. Only said Rockwell’s replacement was someone the fans would be happy to see. Masada was out because he got an offer to wrestle Roderick Strong for the ROH TV Title. Tank got injured the night before which meant Wilson wasn’t there either. Only said Tank vs. Masada would happen at a later date and introduced Bill Behrens.
Behrens came out to “Midnight Rider” and received a standing O. Behrens said when he first heard the name Why We Wrestle, he didn’t know if it was a question or a statement. He concluded that it was an answer. Behrens gave a brief history of wrestling at the Church, describing it as a special place that performers gravitated towards to be discovered and learn why they wrestle. Behrens said the new Why We Wrestle Champion deserved something special and displayed what will become the WWW title -- a brand new NWA Wildside belt that was never worn or defended. Behrens explained that he ordered it from Australia in 2005 but it didn’t arrive until a week after Wildside’s final show.
Kevin Blue snatched the mic out of Behren’s hand and said he was the only one that deserved that belt. If not for Shadow Jackson, he would have the Anarchy Triple Crown and be waiting on the sideline for the tournament to be over so he could face the WWW Champion. Blue tried to grab the belt. Behrens wouldn’t let him have it so Blue decked him. Jackson, Slim J and all the refs ran out to chase Blue off. While they were tending to Behrens, Blue sneaked back in the ring to clip Jackson’s knee and ran away. Jackson said if he couldn’t beat Blue in his tournament match tonight, he was done in Cornelia, but if Blue lost, he should have to go. Behrens said he wasn’t an officer of the company, but his face was on the friggin wall so the loser leaves stip was on. The crowd responded with a “yes!” chant. Be careful what you ask for...
(3) Kory Chavis defeated Jeremy Vain in 13:56 to advance to the second round of the WWW Heavyweight Championship Tournament. Vain garnered an approving pop as Rockwell’s replacement. Mild dueling chants at the start. Vain dominated until a wicked back elbow almost knocked him through the ropes. A headbutt sent Vain off the apron and crashing into the barricade. Chavis gave Vain a beating on the hardwood floor. Selling has always been one of Vain’s strengths and this segment was a textbook example. Back inside, Chavis got the better of a great punch exchange. A collision left both men down. Vain escaped the Spinesplitta and superkicked Chavis for a near fall. Chavis kicked out of Vain’s top rope elbow and hit the Spinesplitta. Vain managed to kick out but a backpack stunner by Chavis spelled doom. This was a fine way to set the tone of tournament as one of high level competition.
(4) Stryknyn & Billy Buck defeated Jon Davis & James Drake in 12:43. Separate entrance for all four. The pop for Stryk was right up there with the one for Buck. Drake has a pudgy “for indys only” physique but his ring work was more than adequate. Davis had no use for him as a partner. Stryk more than held his own with Davis. Stryk and Buck unleashed the Hate Junkie’s boot party on Drake. The heels got heat Buck. A bodyslam contest between Davis and Drake led to Davis slamming Drake on top of Buck. Buck exploded out of the corner with a clothesline on Drake. Tags made. Stryk kicked out of a Jackhammer by Davis and laid him out with the FFD (F5). However, Drake had made a blind tag and went for a moonsault. It missed and he was superkicked (Buck) and speared (Stryk) out of his boots.
Drake was punished severely for his screw up. Chavis joined Davis for a Dark City beatdown on him. Stryk and Buck hit the ring and issued a challenge. DCFC faked like they would accept and walked off. Buck and Stryk raised Drake’s hand.
Sexton came out. He admitted that Hancock beat him in a streetfight at Hardcore Hell two years ago, so a streetfight with Hancock it would be in two weeks.
(5) Odinson defeated Karsan Kase in 3:39. Talk about an immense mismatch – Kase at 150 soaking weight vs. a 280 pound beast. The “Odinson’s gonna kill you” chant was no exaggeration. It was a distinct possibility. I was shocked Kase got any offense at all. When Kase tried a top rope move, Odinson caught him like a small child and put him in the airplane spin with that amazing whirlybird release.
The diminutive Gil Quest came onto the ramp and ordered Odinson to get out of his ring. “I’m gonna have to hurt this kid,” said Quest. Odinson gave Quest the whirlybird treatment and left. “I got ‘em out, right?” said Quest. Odinson ran back to the ring to give Quest another whirlybird. All three refs were out there pleading with Odinson to spare the guy. This was perfect booking of Odinson IMO.
Intermission.
Next up was “The Talent Show” hosted by retired Anarchy star JT Talent, who said he was going to be there because the fans want to know what makes a wrestler tick and he was going to get the answers. Talent introduced Seth DeLay as his first guest out to Tina Turner’s “The Best”. Talent wanted to know if there was going to be a sexy party tonight.
DeLay’s opponent, Jeremy Foster interrupted. Foster said he had done nothing since coming to the Church except ask the veterans questions and learn to be a better wrestler. Foster said win or lose, he would join in on the sexy party, but this wasn’t the time for fun and games. Let’s do the match first.
"Talent Show" was one of WWW's better ideas. Talent is good on the mic and still quite popular with the fans. A great crowd reaction is a sure thing every time DeLay steps through the curtain in Cornelia. The spontaneity of the interaction between them was fun to watch. Foster wasn’t bad either.
(6) Seth DeLay defeated Jeremy Foster to advance to the second round of the WWW Heavyweight Championship Tournament in 12:53. This was an OK match. Babyface vs. babyface is tough sell in this building and it never felt like they got into high gear. Foster got his knees up when DeLay flew from the top. Foster tried to submit DeLay with a crossface chickenwing. Twice DeLay made it to the ropes. DeLay hit the Kool Krusher for a near fall. The finish was nicely done – Foster hit a superplex but Delay was able to secure a cradle on the landing.
Talent came out to applaud the postmatch show of sportsmanship between the competitors. Foster spoiled the feel good moment by decking Talent and storming to the back. DeLay and Talent didn’t let that stop them from giving the fans their “sexy party” dance moment. It looked like they were going to get ring announcer Jonathan Feltner in on the act but he was spared.
(7) Kevin Blue defeated Shadow Jackson to advance to the second round of the WWW Heavyweight Championship Tournament in 13:18. Jackson must leave Why We Wrestle. Match told a simple, compelling story. Blue is really flowing as a heel. The “Shadow” chants were huge. Blue was absolutely relentless in his quest to destroy Jackson’s knee. Blue applied the STF. Jackson made the ropes after being a fraction of an inch from tapping out. High drama there. Blue kicked out of Jackson’s stunner. Jackson kicked out after eating two Yakuza kicks. Jackson hulked up, but his knee collapsed on a spinebuster slam and Blue landed on top for the pin.
Postmatch – Nemesis hit the ring to tell Jackson he wasn’t going anywhere. Maybe he could talk to somebody and they could put Urban Assault Squad back together. Jackson said he gave his word and it would be wrong for the kids to see him break it. They went into beast up mode for old time’s sake…then Nemesis attacked Shadow and took a chair to his knee. “You wanna leave me you SOB!” The babyface hit the ring. Security escorted Nemesis to the front door. Rather than a turn, this was Nemesis showing his true colors.
Shadow’s farewell speech was the most emotional goodbye I’ve ever experienced at the Church. He wept openly and had difficulty getting his words out. Jackson said he started on the Friday night shows 14 years ago. The fans and the wrestlers adopted him. “I hope I left the best part of me here tonight…I hope you take just little bit of me home with you. It ain’t nothing but up from here. Support ‘em and love ‘em.”
Shadow circled the ring shaking hands with each and every fan accompanied by his six year old son. Vain came out on the ramp to pay tribute to his long- time friend and collaborator, calling “Shadowmania” the best thing that ever hit the building. Jackson returned to the ring to kiss the mat before walking up the ramp one last time.
