From Jeff Richards: "Bullet Club" Invasion Hits Home GASTONIA (NC) -- The New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) phenomena kno...
From Jeff Richards:
"Bullet Club" Invasion Hits Home
GASTONIA (NC) -- The New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) phenomena known as the "Bullet Club" was on display @ the Gastonia National Guard Armory May 30th. Soon you will see alumni working in Global Force Wresting (GFW) and repeated performances @ WrestleMerica events.
DOC Gallows (Drew Hankinson) & Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra) were draws this past Saturday in the balmy, sticky armory. Might a generous benefactor please provide air conditioning for this age old armory! WrestleMerica is coming back here in July, and fans will need basins of ice water to soak their feet in.
Tama Tonga was a hit with fans, and the son of Meng has Randy Orton superstardom penciled in for his future. The Bullet Babe, Amber O'Neal Gallows, had a tough draw with Amy Love, who went into business for herself. All in all, the show was a success, and total attendance was 228.
Michael Griffie continues to improve upon his promoting prowess and included a soulful rendition of our National Anthem. However, Griffie, who has refereed Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling for years, needs to hang up the zebra stripes. He screwed up two straight finishes that left a bad taste in fans' mouths and a lot of confusion.
(1) Kid Chaos pinned Rob Killjoy in 9:33 of a solid opening contest. Was this match WrestleMerica's highest rated of the evening? Yes, and we will get to the why's and how's very shortly. Chaos weighed in at 160 lbs. dripping wet with the towel still clinging on him. Killjoy displayed new ring tights where he pokes fun at his own dental atrocities. First big spot was Chaos' Asai moonsault to the floor and landing on his feet. Killjoy delivered an exploder suplex after catching Kid's flying bodypress. Chaos rocked Killjoy with a leaping (!) standing frankensteiner off the top rope. Fans thought they were seeing his "Canadian Destroyer" when Chaos pulled off a sunset flip from the apron. The actual move came a few minutes later and won this contest for Chaos. Rating: 2 1/4 stars
(2) The "Soul Patrol" (Deon Johnson & Sweet Dreamz) defeated the "Black Skull Army" (Baron Bullard & Johnny Smooth) in 14:32. Both teams needed a win, as last year Soul Patrol dropped one in the same building to Zane Riley & Kevin Phoenix. The newly named BSA is winless on all of Gastonia's cards. Dreamz (Corrected Spelling) has airbrushed a pic of himself on his tights. Early on, Johnson was revving up the fans with his flip, flop & fly on Bullard & then Smooth. Dreamz (Mark Howard) immediately bull rushed the heels with a double lariat. Smooth executed a nice float over on a Russian leg sweep of Dreamz and a one-foot dropkick. BSA flattened Dreamz with a flapjack, but the ref was jawing with Johnson. Johnson went up and over on a sunset flip. Bullard raced in to grab Smooth's arms. Dreamz knocked a cheating Bullard away, and Smooth was pinned. Post-match: The "Black Cat" was attacked by BSA until Dreamz saved with a chair. Fans even popped for that! Johnson, in post-match comments, alerted the BSA that they needed a third man for next show because Sir Mo was coming in. Rating: 1 1/2 stars
(3) Amber O'Neal Gallows (announced "from Tokyo, Japan") pinned Amy Love in 10:19, which was too long for this heat. First big discrepancy on the night and this happened last year too: On April 18th in the same city, Mrs. Gallows worked as a heel over at Forestview HS. When WrestleMerica and/or the Superstars Wars group travels 5.2 miles to this armory, the Gallows are always cheered. Someday these inconsistencies are going to catch up with promoter Griffie, who has turned himself babyface and rightfully should. Both ladies wore black, and "The Supermodel" unleashed her inner (aggressive) self. That does not mean Love has improved any in the last two years. Announcer Corky Franks alluded to a beauty contest instead of a wrestling match, and they could have shot some angle out of that. The ladies brawled at ringside. As O'Neal-Gallows returned to the ring, Love kicked the rope and about took her opponent's face off. Love used her height advantage well but needs to polish her heel persona. This was another "knock-down drag-out" fight that Gallows laid out in April for Alexis Parrish as well. Love connected on a "Rock Bottom" that almost scored the victorious pinfall. Gallows soon thereafter hit her X-Factor finish (a sit-out face plant), and Griffie held up his count. The bell rang anyway, and Griffie announced Amber was this match's winner. Shaking my head #1 Rating: 1/2 of a star
(4) Tonga survived a four-way elimination featuring Cedric Alexander, Mica (former WWE Camacho) and Brian Myers (former WWE Curt Hawkins) in 13:21. Myers was a late addition to this reportedly three-way dance. Tonga has a very intimidating look that fans took notice of with his "Scream" Ghostface. Griffie allowed all four in the ring to start, with no need for tags. Two wrestlers would work their spots, while the others would rest outside until it was their turn. Alexander and Myers, the two more heelish competitors, exchanged several Pele kicks. Great spot where Alexander almost was tied up in the "Tree of Woe." Mica and Tonga were up in the corner trying to double superplex Myers, and Alexander got involved too. Myers rallied to spear all three of his foes and eliminated Mica by pin at the 8:55 mark. Alexander prepared to declare a truce with Myers and just as quickly schoolboyed him for the next elimination (10:19). That left ROH's Alexander, who had a row of PWX fans pulling for him, and NJJPW's Tonga. Alexander went through the ropes just fine this month for a tope. Kick to Kill" climbed up top for a frog splash, and when Griffie only counted two, well, the heat started right there. Tonga surprised all with a leaping frog splash of his own for a two count with no ropes involved. He trapped Alexander with a guillotine choke and dropped down into a DDT variation. Obviously, that was the finish, but Griffie said he saw Alexander flinch his shoulder. Tonga stood up, screamed "3" and proceeded to beat up Griffie. DVD commentator Dan Parris was thinking a DQ finish, and of course Franks announced Tonga was the winner. Shaking my head violently #2 Rating: 2 stars and yes, you have to count off for f***-ups of this nature
A twenty-five minute intermission certainly helped gimmick & concession sales. The night though was not getting any cooler.
(5) The Barbarian, booed @ the Armory and cheered at the High School, cheated to win over George South Jr. (vice versa) in 8:40. It is almost like Bizarro World, where WWE fans in Canada love to root for Vince McMahon Jr's heels. Here came George South Sr. (sans ring jacket) to cut a promo about "tough love." He introduced his grandson Dallas and begged the youngster to root against his Daddy. See, if South Jr. upsets Hall of Famer Barbarian, "Papaw" will earn respect for his son with whom he teamed last month. I have a headache now. South Jr. even used his father's ring entrance music. More brawling outside the ring as Barb hit South Jr. with a chairshot that would have landed me in Gaston Memorial Hospital. After having his manhood slandered, South Jr. took Barbarian down a couple of times. He even delivered a DDT, and guess who popped up on the ring apron? If you are thinking "Dallas," no he is too young for that. The South Sr. distraction allowed Barb to hit South Jr. with an "Asiatic Spike"/foreign object and pin him. South Jr. promised a "Rock & Roller" (Ricky Morton presumably) will be his partner next time in Gastonia. Rating: 3/4 of a star
(6) In a no disqualification match, Gallows & Anderson downed the makeshift team of "Southern Savior" John Skyler & Brad Attitude. A native of NC, Anderson was making his NC pro wrestling debut. Skyler, the PWX Heavyweight Champion, and Attitude, the CWF Mid-Atlantic Champion, made for some undersized opponents. Anderson suggested that Gallows was "remarkable on the mic after he was Festus" in WWE. In Skyler's promo before the Bullet Club came out, he called Gastonia's fans "stupid idiots who believe in bullcrap hype." The 64th & 66th former IWGP Tag Team Champions gave their respective brawlers a lot of offense. A pair of double superkicks resulted in Gallows rolling out of the ring. Skyler's plancha to the floor was met by a punch from Gallows. All four fought into the ringside chairs. Sadly, there were no warning announcements by Franks nor was there a SINGLE security type available. Anderson left Attitude (Brad Greene) standing straight up (but upside down) in a trash can. The brawl went outside, and it brought back memories of Stan Hansen going into the crowd, Brusier Brody, etc. Finally we saw the Bullet Club and Attitude back inside. Attitude was double-teamed and almost pinned, but he managed to kick out. Skyler (John Brumbaugh) kept being ushered out, as Anderson struck with a "Gun Stun." The second time Gallows & Anderson called for "Magic Killer," they nailed it, and Attitude was pinned by ""Machine Gun" Anderson. Hard to rate because so much was outside the squared circle but how about 1 3/4 stars?
NOTES: Gallows & Anderson have a little break with the NJPW "Super Juniors" Tournament occurring now. They will return to Japan in late June. Gallows suddenly has become a vey busy man with his NJPW commitments, GFW starting up, and WrestleMerica getting TV in Barnesville, GA....Meanwhile, O'Neal Gallows was thrilled with making her NJPW in-ring debut on May 3rd, as Kingdom & Maria Kanellis went over on the Bullet Club members. A good possibility for O'Neal Gallows would be to follow her in her husband's footsteps with GFW. Already matches between Lei'd Tapa and Thea Trinidad have been announced, so it does appear women's wrestling will happen in GFW....PWX CEO/CFO Brian Kanabroski finally made it to the Armory in time to see Gallows' & Anderson's match with his company champion (Skyler). He had been receiving texts from fans insisting that the show was having its difficulties. Kanabroski was asked to dwell upon his recent visit with Samoa Joe and had some interesting comments. Joe appears to have turned Kanabroski on to some new contacts within ROH & TNA. The unfortunate news is that some of PWX' talent has been scouted now and looks to be headed elsewhere. That will prove to be a challenge but also an opportunity to introduce newer workers (i.e. Mason Maddox).
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