From Jeff Richards: New Blood False Advertises Gunner, Brings in Richards HICKORY (NC) -- The track record of local promoter Re...
From Jeff Richards:
New Blood False Advertises Gunner, Brings in Richards
HICKORY (NC) -- The track record of local promoter Rex Rumble came into question this past Friday night (2/27). TNA star Gunner (Chad Lail) was promised a return to his hometown but nowhere to be seen by fans hoping for autographs, selfies, etc.
New Blood Championship Wrestling (NBCW) has not run Hickory, suddenly an indy hotspot, since March 19, 2011. Every Tom, Dick and Harry suddenly has become interested in the National Guard Armory with a sergeant allowing anyone to run.
Gunner was depicted on posters and in the regional FOCUS newspaper as appearing. However, the former TNA TV Champion alerted social media he would NOT be coming home to work for NBCW.
In NBCW's defense, the promotion paid a lot of $$$ to replace Gunner with former ECW/WWE stalwart Stevie Richards. It was Richards' first appearance in Catawba County and, properly promoted, probably would have enticed more than 61 fans (over 20 comped).
Richards even did the job in NBCW's main event, dropping a pinfall to heavyweight champion Kid Chaos (Rumble's brother). Chaos could stand to put on a hundred pounds to be believable as a heavyweight.
Despite an entertaining main event, the other matches on this show were not as good. Rumble's trainees filled various spots on the card and were a mixed bag. A match between veterans Thunder and Chris Venum was tolerable. James Hall continues to improve and would be a welcome addition to a lot of area shows.
Tickets were $8 adults and $5 for children. Rumble may have taken a shower after the show but took a bath at the gate. A couple of sponsors, Hooters of Hickory and the Harley-Davidson Riding Academy, certainly helped out rent-wise.
(1) Ethan Bullet pinned Michael Klein (w/Mr. Bones). Former ROD referee Mr. Crystal was on the front row marking out for Bones. The heel (Klein) dominated and allowed Bullet to ail three offensive moves...all match. One was a shining enzuigiri which won the bout. Rating: 3/4 of a star
The Father of Darkness, a cheap rip-off of Reverend Dan Wilson, came out to reiterate no Gunner. However, he stated his latest charge would be "the savior of this company." Father Darkness also said that his man was "a million times better than Gunner will ever be." He was speaking of Richards and possibly could have been heard better without the microphone.
(2) Sweet Ginger & J Stunner defeated Austin Destiny & Brian Bullock. Neither heel appeared to be over the age of 18. Destiny did not even look old enough to have acne! Bless her heart, Ginger is going to get seriously hurt someday. She did get in her usual spot, the baseball slide to Destiny's under grown gonads. Stunner tied Austin up like a pretzel and DDT'd him for the finish. Rating: 1/4 of a star (did not think a match could get any worse...)
Suddenly, in sprints Richards who superkicks Ginger to la-la land. One guy on the front row was chanting "E-C-Dub." Richards asked what kind of promotion attracts short fat fans who look "just like the wrestlers." He noticed I was agreeing with this assessment. Richards and the Father of Darkness laid down the gauntlet, and Chaos with his replica belt answered their challenge. The evil Richards was separated from Hickory's fan base by a rope that your child could crawl over.
(3) Chris "Thunder" Anderson submitted Chris Venum. My only complaint was the obvious mismatch in size. These two work regularly in Kings Mountain (NC) for the New Millennium group. I refereed on a show in Memphis once where Thunder was practically mauled by the Moondogs. Never thought I would see him wrestle again. The only power move that looked top-notch, a spinebuster, Venum kicked out of it. He soon tapped to Thunder's armbar. Rating: 1/2 of a star
(4) Rumble pinned Hall (w/ the overused Father of Darkness). Hall shows a lot of charisma and already knows how to work the crowd. He could stand to lose the green tassels on his boots though. The FoD handed Hall a chair, but referee James Bruner would not let him swing it. However, "Bru" did let Hall prop it in the corner (go figure). Hall hit an exploder suplex where Rumble's head momentarily disappeared. Hall continued to argue with Bruner over the chair and accidentally bumped himself. He fell right in front of Rumble, who simply crawled over to make the cover. Rating: 1 star
During the lengthy intermission, Ginger was holding her jaw in place while selling 50/50 tickets.
But I digress........
(5) Trey Chaos & NBCW Tag Team Champions Young Gunz (William Ford & Darren Remmington) defeated Los Angeles del Anillo (The Angels of the Ring). Emanating from Hickory, the Angels were introduced in Spanish. Being a little rusty on my espanol, I will refer to them as Goldy (yellow mask), Blue Boy (blue mask) and Mask-less. This past summer, the Young Gunz were hoping to get on with Omega Championship Wrestling and did some ring crew work for the organization. That meets their qualifications. This team has not improved one iota since last seen February 2013 in Claremont, NC. Chaos started the match trading amateur moves with Mask-less, and it turned into a shoot. Mask-less appeared clueless when it came to professional wrestling moves. It was like watching an Hispanic Bruno Sammartino. The Young Gunz acted like they had never seen a lucha spot in their young lives. At one point, Ford performed an Irish whip knowing full well that referee Bruner was in the way. This was a premeditated yet unscripted ref bump that could have crippled the unknowing official. Bruner went down favoring a leg and was fortunate not to have stayed that way. Goldy did the job after a double team side slam. Rating: Negative 3/4 of a star
(6) NBCW U.S. Champion The Black Dragon pinned Milestone Rasslin' booker Mike Levy (w/Mr. Bones). Dragon was accompanied to ringside by Lady Dragon. Mr. Dragon's ring entrance was imposing. However, he should have never taken off his ceremonial garb; it exposed his gut, camouflage pants and lack of wrestling boots. Levy executed a "Falcon Arrow," and Bones scooted Mrs. Dragon into the ring. The female Dragon blocked a Levy punch and slapped her husband's opponent. Black Dragon kicked Levy between the shoulder blades, and that was it. Rating: Negative 1/4 of a star
(7) Kid Chaos retained his NBCW Heavyweight Title over Richards (w/Father of Darkness) in 12:10. The match started at 10:15 pm. Richards rebuffed some offense early and even dropped Chaos on his head with a dangerous suplex (back). Chao kicked out of the Concussion City move. Richards reared back on a "camel clutch." The leader of the BWO lit Chaos up with some big league chops. Richards called for a bronco buster, but there was nobody home. Chaos threw some nice dropkicks as part of his comeback. Richards kicked out of a springboard sunset-flip in time. Chaos went upstairs for a 450 splash. Richards moved and delivered a "Stevie kick." Would there be a new champion? No, as Chaos rolled the shoulder. Richards was in disbelief. The Father of Darkness leaped up onto the apron with his Truth Martini-type book. After a heel collision, a schoolboy by Chaos sealed Richards' fate. Rating: 2 1/2 stars
An unnecessary barrage of kicking the champion when he was down and destroying his locker room cohorts followed. Richards was intent on "getting his heat back." Taking the belt toward the dressing area, Richards was met by promoter/big brother Rumble. After Rumble procured Chaos' belt, he returned it to its rightful owner (well, sort of).
NOTES: ROD ran the same building on Saturday night (2/28). Abel Adams is no longer helping with the ROD locker room. Talent continues to jump back and forth between ROD and David Rhymer's SWA out of Forest City....The two other groups utilizing Hickory's only armory are Milestone and Brian Kanabroski's Premiere Wrestling Xperience (PWX). PWX returns to Hickory on 3/21. Its January show was well-received and attended by some 250 people. That was the largest Armory crowd ever in Hickory to attend a pro wrestling show......Every group has room for improvement. NBCW's biggest concern should be finding a home base to run regular shows. Running the Drexel (NC) fair each summer is a nice, lucrative deal, but NBCW's youngsters need more solid work. Finding or renting a building for bi-monthly shows could benefit everyone involved.
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