From Logan Frazier: Attendance: 76 It's important to note that all matches on the card tonight have no rules, no disqualificat...
From Logan Frazier:
Attendance: 76
It's important to note that all matches on the card tonight have no rules, no disqualifications, and no countouts.
Also many of the props that is used as weapons in this article were supplied courtesy of longtime Southern Honor And Southern Fried fan, Donald Piper. (Green mohawk, kilt, wrestling boots, and shopping cart full of gimmicks) Why does he look more like he should be wrestling than most of the wrestlers? Maybe some of the wrestlers should ask themselves that.
Jason Collins (c) vs Deon Mercer for the RCW No Limits Championship
The crowd is already going crazy tonight. The 76 in attendance could compete with the sounds of a 300 crowd. I've mentioned before the passion of the RCW regulars. We start out with a collar and elbow tie up and test of strength. Mercer with an arm drag takedown and a flying crossbody. Collins pulls Mercer's leg out from under him while perched on the top turnbuckle There is a lot of strength draining holds in a match where anything goes.....Mercer with a Samoan drop and a vertical suplex for a nearfall pin. Collins executes a standing moonsault. Several back and forth spots which leads to Mercer putting a crossface on Collins. Collins reaches the ropes but there is no breaking the hold in anything goes rules. So Collins grabs the ref with his free hand and slams him into Mercer to break the hold. Collins the grabs the belt and lays out Mercer for the 3 count. Good match structure with a creative finish that didn't make Mercer look weak in taking a loss. I'm usually not real big on Deon Mercer. I don't dislike him, but he hasn't impressed me either. That being said, either one of two things has happened, 1. He has recently improved his game over the past few weeks, or 2. Jason Collins has the ability to make him look better than he actually is. I'm going with 2. Mercer looked good on the ring tonight but Jason looked better. Grade B
Jason Collins gets on the mic and announces his entrance into the Best of the Best Tournament. Music starts and Matt Lynch comes out to confront Collins. The arena goes crazy in cheers. Lynch stares down Collins and waits for Collins to react. Words are being exchanged but not really for the audience to actually hear. Collins begins to move against him but Lynch is quicker. Lynch loads up Collins in a fireman's carry, but Collins wiggles out of it and escapes the ring. Lynch grabs a mic and says, "Jason you were this close. I hate that I ruined your announcement party, but I just wanted to let you and everyone else know that I will also be entering the Best of the Best Tournament. And I hope that on that night, mine and your paths cross."
Really good set up segment. I enjoy the extra things like this that RCW had began to incorporate more into their shows. Entertain me!
Dorian Crowe vs Robert Starr
Starr attacks Crowe with a kendo stick before he even gets into the ring. Starr throws Crowe in the ring and begins choking him out. Crowe falls through the ropes to the outside and grabs a prosthetic leg and nails Starr with it amongst other things such as a caution cone and a baking sheet, all supplied by Piper. Starr brings a huge metal road sign into the ring. After a block, Crowe scoop slams Starr on the sign to get the pinfall. The end of the match seemed a little rushed. Starr was completely uninteresting at all. I really enjoy Crowe but this really almost turned into just a showcase match for him. The only offense he got in was off the top by catching Crowe offguard. Starr needs to figure out how to get heat. His unimportance and shortened finished is what killed this match. D
Brandon Collins vs. John Bishop
Love Bishop's new ring gear. It has a throwback hint of Jim Anvil Neidharts' store. They are immediately all over the arena. Bishop is slamming Collins head on everything in this building. Collins uses the prosthetic leg on Bishop. That prosthetic leg is getting more action tonight than most of the wrestlers.
(I separate this part because I find it an interesting piece of business. It has an element that is missing from wrestling today, a genuine reaction. There is so much choreography and know what you are doing before you go out there that it prevents the crowd to become passionate about what they are seeing. I don't believe that this was what was intended by the wrestlers. But I enjoyed the hell out of it all the same.) Bishop picks up a loose kendo stick and swings for the fence across Collins' back. It was rather evident that it was not discussed first because immediately Collins turns around and screams "That was hard!!!!" It shocked him so much, I legit think it was a true, guttural reaction that broke kayfaybe. Immediately, Bishop must have felt bad because he just hand the kendo stick to Collins and takes such a hard hit in retaliation that sounded like it broke the stick.
They tour through the kitchen and Bishop stabs Collins with a plastic fork. Bishop gets a DDT on the metal sign as he tries to get into the ring from Collins. As Bishop is about to hit Collins with a mannequin head, Collins kicks Bishop below the belt. (I don't think it is supposed to hurt that way when you are giving head.) He yells there is no DQ and pins him for the 3 count. Good, solid match. They fulfilled what my idea of a PG, no holds barred match did be. Also, both Collins and Bishop both seemed much improved this week. B
Chris Ganz vs Brent Banner for a spot in Best of the Best
Ganz is demanding Banner weigh in and be under 200 pounds. Management comes out and says tonight is no rules, including weight. Ganz acts like he will just walk out. Banner says he will weigh in and he is actually under the 200 pounds. Banner runs most of the match with Ganz pulling dirty moves, but they are perfectly legal tonight. Ganz begins choking Banner. He almost didn't answer the three. Ganz sets up six chairs facing each other. He puts Banner on them and goes up top. Banner recovers and jumps up the turnbuckle and superplexes Ganz onto the chairs. This was a great spot. Man it looked nasty and both competitors sold it just like it looked. When they finally recover, Banner is hulking up and getting ready to charge. Meanwhile, Ganz is preparing the scale in secret. Banner charges Ganz and gets clocked with the scale. Ganz rolls up him up but at the count of two, Banner flips an unsuspecting Ganz over for a stolen three count and win. Match C- Chair spot B+
Johnny Viper vs Ethan Cage
Viper charges at Cage and Cage delivers a Samoan drop. Viper hits a backstabber. Viper is absolutely owning this match. Viper goes up top and walks the ropes into a missile dropkick. Viper puts Cage in a Bow and Arrow. Viper hits a spear for a nearfall. There is a commotion at the front. The Collins brothers have walked out, dragging a crying Austynn Madison out to ringside. Cage notices as they threaten towards her. Viper takes advantage and hits the flatliner on a distracted Cage to score the pinfall. The Collins let Austynn go who comes to the ring edge checking in on Cage. Definitely thought the anything to win attitude of the Illuminati really rang true in the Austynn Madison/distraction storyline. It was a decent match and the distraction was ruthless. C+
Rumble Match
Zach Malone makes his return to start followed by Joey Idol. Good solid action back and forth. John Bell is out next. Bell and Malone are double teaming Idol. Paul Manson is out next, followed by Robert Starr, Chris Ganz, Dorian Crowe, and Josh Barnes.
Points from the match:
* Chris Ganz is eliminated immediately after entering by Dorian Crowe. Ganz is pissed and runs back in to eliminate Crowe.
* Your two really workhorses throughout the match was Zach Malone and Paul Manson.
* I'm not sure why John Bell and Robert Starr even bothered to be in this match
* The storyline with Josh Barnes being a face and his wife, Malibu being a heel and abusing him while trying to teach him how to convert to heel, is fantastic story arc. And they delivered when he was eliminated and she slapped the taste out of his mouth.
Manson won out in the end by eliminating Zach Malone to claim the spot in Best of the Best Tournament. This battle royal was all over the place. You had some competitors just standing in the ring and watching things go down. There was a few clumsy spots here and there. The only good parts of this match was the storyline arcs that had nothing to do with the match itself. D
Brent Banner comes out to congratulate him. They shake hands and Banner pats Manson on the back. All through this I personally am chanting, "Turn, Turn, Turn". It was have been a perfect spot and good end to the show. And set the two of them up to eliminate each other from the tournament. Just my opinion..
