Post by nwawildside on May 16, 2011 7:51:16 GMT -5
05/15/2011 – NWA Anarchy TV Taping Live Report for 5/14
From Larry Goodman:
NWA Anarchy ran their first TV taping under new ownership Saturday night at the NWA
Arena in Cornelia, Ga.
Outgoing owner Jerry Palmer officially passed the torch to Franklin Dove. As expected,
it was a seamless transition being that the creative team headed up by Bill Behrens
remains essentially in tact.
It was a top notch show in the ring with a more starpower than the typical Anarchy
taping over the last year. The NWA colors were flying high, featuring an appearance by
the new NWA World Tag Team Champions, a first round match in the tournament for
the NWA North American Championship and the return of TNA TV Champion and
former NWA National Champion Gunner to the building where he was the top dog.
With that said, for my money this night was about Caprice Coleman. He's never
gotten a shot at the majors. Size must be the issue, because he's got everything else
they could possibly ask for.
However, the attendance of 100 for the big restart after a five week layoff was a
disappointment. The Southern Nationals drag racing event in nearby Commerce was
cited as a factor. It was the same as what they drew May 15 last year with a lesser
card. The high profile appearances were added in the final weeks leading up to the
event and as far as I know, the Internet was the main mode of getting the word out. It’s
been proven time and time again that independent promotions can’t draw off the
internet, and my impression is that the internet does less for Anarchy than it does for
most indies. Whatever the reasons, it was shame not have more eyeballs viewing
what turned out to be quality show.
Clearly, the Palmer era ended on an incredibly high note at Hardcore Hell. In
hindsight, though, it strikes me that things were wrapped up too neatly.
Fans weren’t provided with compelling enough reasons to see the sequel. All of
villains major were vanquished. The babyfaces held all of the titles except the one
with the least import.
Fixable problems for sure, although not ones that were adequately addressed last
night. The babyface champions all went over strong in their first title defenses. I get
that. They were all brand new. But no heat was put on any of them. The crowd was hot
for the first hour but got deathly quiet during the second hour. On the plus side, two
matches where issues do exist were set up for May 28.
The show opened with the national anthem. It wouldn’t be an Anarchy event without
technical snafus. The audio didn’t work for the first half of it. The WrestleVision was
non-functional, so there were no backstage vignettes, etc.
(1) Gunner (Phil Shatter) beat Chris Mayne in a dark match at 6:37. The fans treated
Gunner like a conquering hero. And so it should be. He exudes total confidence in the
ring. Mayne was greeted with a “where’s your midget?” chant in reference to former
tag partner Aaron Lee. That period of Mayne’s career I would like to erase from my
memory. He’s much improved since his return from injury. It goes without saying that
with Gunner as the opponent, it was a thoroughly solid match. Mayne got a lot of
offense, but in the end, Gunner pinned him with the F5.
Palmer and Dove joined Gunner in the ring for a welcome home. Gunner did a hearty
Jim Duggan “Hooo!” with Palmer’s ax handle. Gunner thanked the Anarchy fans for
supporting him since his arrival in October 2006. Gunner said he started wrestling in
2001, but it was Anarchy that kick started his career. The fans responded with a thank
you chant. Shatter specifically credited Iceberg, Brodie Chase, Mikal Judas, Ace
Rockwell, Kimo, Truitt Fields, and Jeff G. Bailey for helping him. Gunner then thanked
Palmer for the opportunity, Dove for keeping the doors open and closed by thanking
God.
Palmer officially introduced Dove as the new owner. He said Dove was Charlotte, the
home of the NWA, which couldn’t be a bad thing. He contrasted Dove’s clean living
lifestyle with his own, then presented Dove with an administrative assistant in the
form of a baseball bat.
That brought Jeff G. Bailey out. He said Palmer’s day was done and started sucking
up to Dove. He brought up how Dove was great fan of the Elite to the extent that he
had a personalized NWA Elite license plate (true). Dove listed off all the other
members of the Elite and said Bailey just leeched off of them. Dove spoke well and
came across like the ultimate nice guy. Bailey insisted that he made the Elite. Bailey
was disappointed in Dove, but he had had gift --- The Usual Suspects (Murder One &
AJ Steele). The thugs from the Dark City entered proudly displaying their newly won
NWA World Tag Team Titles.
Dove said he also had a gift and introduced J.T. Talent as his new GM -- an excellent
choice in my opinion. Talent is over with the fans and good talker whose mic skills
weren’t fully exploited during his run as an active competitor. He promised to make
Bailey’s life a living hell. Talent said Anarchy tag champs, Youth Gone Wild were the
obvious choice for the title shot, but he was giving it to New Wave. That popped the
crowd. Talent tried to shake hands with Murder One. He just stood there stroking his
chin – an awesome choice. Bailey started to leave, only to find that Suspects had
decided to shake hands with Talent and Dove after all. Bailey was terrific as usual. It
worked beautifully as a stand alone. After being humiliated at Hardcore Hell, the most
hated heel was foiled again. What didn’t make sense is that Bailey never showed his
face again. Surely at this juncture, he should be starting crap with somebody about
something.
Andrew Alexander came out. They were pressing their luck at this point with a 20
minute talk segment. Alexander said he and Billy Buck needed a match with Hate
Junkies on May 28. Talent agreed and made it a falls count anywhere.
(2) Aden Chambers (with John Johnson) defeated Jacob Ashworth to retain the
NWA Anarchy Young Lion’s Championship in 11:41. Nice match. Good action and
they told a story. Ashworth got off to a fast start, using a dropkick and a sidewalk slam
for near falls. Chambers took liberties in the corner. Ashworth tossed him out, but
Chambers capitalized on Ashworth’s impatience. When Chambers did too much
arrogant lollygagging as he went up top, Ashworth ran up the ropes for an overhead
suplex. Both men down for a six count. Ashworth up and firing, then a power slam for
two. Chambers back with an enzuigiri and an STO for two. Ashworth blocked a
pedigree and hit Ashes To Ashes. That brought Johnson up to distract, allowing
Chambers to nail Ashworth with a DVD.
(3) Youth Gone Wild (Anthony Henry & Dustin Knight) beat Fabulous Blondes (Casey
Kage & Brian Rivers) to retain the NWA Anarchy Tag Team Championship in 9:41.
Kage had the quintessential platinum blonde hair and a great tan. A person with
knowledge of such things explained that Rivers’ hair color looked brassy because he
had not used the proper multi-stage process to achieve the look. Both Blondes have
good size. YWG hit a hot dive combo early. Blondes got heat on Knight. There was
nice exchange where Knight got Rivers in the crossface, and Rivers answered with
an armbar submission. Henry ran wild with the hot tag. YWG nailed each of the
Blondes with double enzuigiris. Knight pinned Rivers after their combo Go 2 Sleep,
which didn’t look all that great. Good match overall though.
(4) Shaun Tempers defeated Caprice Coleman to advance in the NWA North
American Title Tournament (13:51). This was the match of the night, featuring the top
performance of the night by Coleman. The guy has been wrestling for close to 15
years and he’s better than ever. He’s got a thicker, more chiseled physique and even
more amazing aerial skills than he did when he showed up in NWA Wildside in 2000,
and he can wrestle. They opened with a display of chain wrestling skills, which is
always a refreshing change at Anarchy. Tempers wasn’t faring well and wanted a TO.
Coleman wouldn’t let him have it. However, Tempers managed to take Coleman’s
knee out when he tried to fly. Not to be denied, Coleman came back with a
springboard leg lariat and an amazing springboard flying bodypress. Sin Cara has
nothing on him. With Tempers seated on the top turnbuckle, Coleman sprung from
the mat right into a super huracanrana. This reads like a one man show. Trust me, it
wasn’t. Tempers hung right with him and made a sturdy base for all the flying. I recall
thinking Tempers was a hopeless case when I first saw him on one of the Friday
night Wildside shows years ago. Like Gunner and Coleman, he’s a prime example of
what can be achieved by dedication to becoming a true professional. Tempers
blocked Thermal Shock. Coleman blocked the hangman’s neckbreaker and hit a
shining wizard. A timely side step by Tempers left Coleman seated on the top
turnbuckle. Tempers hit a a hanging hangman’s neckbreaker for the 1-2-3.
(5) Bo Newsom beat Skirra Corvus in 9:17. Technically, this was a fine match. What
was missing was the feeling of a true contest. The crowd wasn’t feeling it either. They
went through their pre-determined routine, which included way too many near falls.
Corvus kicked out of the Tiger Driver. Corvus then escaped from a super Tiger Driver
and brought Newsom off the top with a huracanrana –a really good move but it couldn’
t compare with what Coleman did in the previous match. Corvus ducked Newsom’s
springboard crossbody with one of his freaky double joined Matrix moves. As Corvus
came off the top, Newsom kicked him in the groin and scored the pinfall with a small
package.
(6) Brodie Chase beat Shaun Tempers (with Bo Newsom) in 4 seconds to retain
the NWA Anarchy TV Championship. Before the match, Tempers did some hilarious
mic work. He said he was going to be the new NWA North American champ and titles
were like girls – one is great and two are even better. He said “Bro” Newsom only
cares about victory and everyone would soon be chanting about his small package.
As soon as bell rang, Chase cradled Tempers with a small package. Tempers
started going nuts and Chase did it again. This got over like gangbusters. It was the
highlight of the second hour. All three including referee Ken Wallace were
tremendous with timing and facial expressions.
(7) Kimo beat Stryknyn (with “Reverend” Dan Wilson) via DQ in 4:16. This was a
fresh, intriguing match up. Kimo unleashed the martial arts attack. Stryknyn
capitalized on Rev’s interference to take over. At one point, Stryknyn tossed his belt to
Rev so he could choke Kimo with it. Kimo had Stryknyn in the Tongan Death Grip
when he was attacked by Azrael. Kimo held his own until the numbers game was too
much.
As Azrael was about to debilitate Kimo with the cutthroat tombstone piledriver,
Alexander ran out to make the save. Zero pop. It was weird. There’s a missing piece
as to Kimo’s status a babyface. He was Palmer’s ace in the hole. Now what?
Tim E. D. announced Azrael vs. Kimo for May 28.
(8) Shadow Jackson beat Jacoby Boykins (with John Johnson) to retain the NWA
Anarchy Heavyweight Championship in 10:28. OK match. No heat. Puzzling booking.
There was no rhyme or reason for Boykins getting a title shot. He hasn’t been
presented as a top tier guy. And if the purpose was to give Jackson a convincing win,
it shouldn't have been a 10 minute match. It was like fans were just waiting for
Jackson to beat him, and they had to wait too long. Early on, Jackson was too crafty
for the big man, but Boykins was eventually able to impose his will with the power
moves. Boykins got the bear hug. Jackson started to hulk up and Boykins cut him off.
Jackson evaded two elbow drops and the hulk up was on in full effect. Johnson
jumped up to interfere. Jackson tomahawk chopped Johnson on the top of head.
Jackson used a stunner, but Boykins got a foot on the ropes. Jackson then blocked
Boykins’ finisher and hit the 1031 for the pin.
Steven Walters came out alone to face Usual Suspects. That brought Talent back out.
He said the other half of New Wave, Derrick Driver, was still an hour away, but the
promised title match would take place with Coleman as Walters’ partner.
(9) Usual Suspects (Murder One & AJ Steele) beat Steven Walters & Caprice
Coleman to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship in 11:43. Crowd was
strangely subdued for such a good match. There obviously wasn’t going to be title
change with a substitute partner. The other thing was as badass as they are;
Suspects were babyfaced by not sticking with Bailey. I assume this was to done to
maintain consistency with their characters in RPW. From the opening bell, Coleman
and Walters were on fire. Coleman hit a spectacular springboard plancha on both
Suspects. They double teamed Steele, who answered with a massive double lariat.
Walters back took serious damage, as he was on the receiving end of a series of
impressive power from Steele. After a Walters enzuigiri, the tag was made setting up
more stellar work by Coleman. He hit the spin scissors kick on Steele, then teamed
up with Walters on the New Wave’s Double Vision move. Murder pulled Coleman out
and wasted him with a shot into the rail. Steele and Walters got their signal crossed,
and for a terrifying moment it appeared that Walters was going to land on his head
and wind up paralyzed. In the end, Murder One pinned Walters after Suspects hit a
glitchy version of the Violator 420. Crowd was deader than dead. It was an alarmingly
flat ending to the show.
From Larry Goodman:
NWA Anarchy ran their first TV taping under new ownership Saturday night at the NWA
Arena in Cornelia, Ga.
Outgoing owner Jerry Palmer officially passed the torch to Franklin Dove. As expected,
it was a seamless transition being that the creative team headed up by Bill Behrens
remains essentially in tact.
It was a top notch show in the ring with a more starpower than the typical Anarchy
taping over the last year. The NWA colors were flying high, featuring an appearance by
the new NWA World Tag Team Champions, a first round match in the tournament for
the NWA North American Championship and the return of TNA TV Champion and
former NWA National Champion Gunner to the building where he was the top dog.
With that said, for my money this night was about Caprice Coleman. He's never
gotten a shot at the majors. Size must be the issue, because he's got everything else
they could possibly ask for.
However, the attendance of 100 for the big restart after a five week layoff was a
disappointment. The Southern Nationals drag racing event in nearby Commerce was
cited as a factor. It was the same as what they drew May 15 last year with a lesser
card. The high profile appearances were added in the final weeks leading up to the
event and as far as I know, the Internet was the main mode of getting the word out. It’s
been proven time and time again that independent promotions can’t draw off the
internet, and my impression is that the internet does less for Anarchy than it does for
most indies. Whatever the reasons, it was shame not have more eyeballs viewing
what turned out to be quality show.
Clearly, the Palmer era ended on an incredibly high note at Hardcore Hell. In
hindsight, though, it strikes me that things were wrapped up too neatly.
Fans weren’t provided with compelling enough reasons to see the sequel. All of
villains major were vanquished. The babyfaces held all of the titles except the one
with the least import.
Fixable problems for sure, although not ones that were adequately addressed last
night. The babyface champions all went over strong in their first title defenses. I get
that. They were all brand new. But no heat was put on any of them. The crowd was hot
for the first hour but got deathly quiet during the second hour. On the plus side, two
matches where issues do exist were set up for May 28.
The show opened with the national anthem. It wouldn’t be an Anarchy event without
technical snafus. The audio didn’t work for the first half of it. The WrestleVision was
non-functional, so there were no backstage vignettes, etc.
(1) Gunner (Phil Shatter) beat Chris Mayne in a dark match at 6:37. The fans treated
Gunner like a conquering hero. And so it should be. He exudes total confidence in the
ring. Mayne was greeted with a “where’s your midget?” chant in reference to former
tag partner Aaron Lee. That period of Mayne’s career I would like to erase from my
memory. He’s much improved since his return from injury. It goes without saying that
with Gunner as the opponent, it was a thoroughly solid match. Mayne got a lot of
offense, but in the end, Gunner pinned him with the F5.
Palmer and Dove joined Gunner in the ring for a welcome home. Gunner did a hearty
Jim Duggan “Hooo!” with Palmer’s ax handle. Gunner thanked the Anarchy fans for
supporting him since his arrival in October 2006. Gunner said he started wrestling in
2001, but it was Anarchy that kick started his career. The fans responded with a thank
you chant. Shatter specifically credited Iceberg, Brodie Chase, Mikal Judas, Ace
Rockwell, Kimo, Truitt Fields, and Jeff G. Bailey for helping him. Gunner then thanked
Palmer for the opportunity, Dove for keeping the doors open and closed by thanking
God.
Palmer officially introduced Dove as the new owner. He said Dove was Charlotte, the
home of the NWA, which couldn’t be a bad thing. He contrasted Dove’s clean living
lifestyle with his own, then presented Dove with an administrative assistant in the
form of a baseball bat.
That brought Jeff G. Bailey out. He said Palmer’s day was done and started sucking
up to Dove. He brought up how Dove was great fan of the Elite to the extent that he
had a personalized NWA Elite license plate (true). Dove listed off all the other
members of the Elite and said Bailey just leeched off of them. Dove spoke well and
came across like the ultimate nice guy. Bailey insisted that he made the Elite. Bailey
was disappointed in Dove, but he had had gift --- The Usual Suspects (Murder One &
AJ Steele). The thugs from the Dark City entered proudly displaying their newly won
NWA World Tag Team Titles.
Dove said he also had a gift and introduced J.T. Talent as his new GM -- an excellent
choice in my opinion. Talent is over with the fans and good talker whose mic skills
weren’t fully exploited during his run as an active competitor. He promised to make
Bailey’s life a living hell. Talent said Anarchy tag champs, Youth Gone Wild were the
obvious choice for the title shot, but he was giving it to New Wave. That popped the
crowd. Talent tried to shake hands with Murder One. He just stood there stroking his
chin – an awesome choice. Bailey started to leave, only to find that Suspects had
decided to shake hands with Talent and Dove after all. Bailey was terrific as usual. It
worked beautifully as a stand alone. After being humiliated at Hardcore Hell, the most
hated heel was foiled again. What didn’t make sense is that Bailey never showed his
face again. Surely at this juncture, he should be starting crap with somebody about
something.
Andrew Alexander came out. They were pressing their luck at this point with a 20
minute talk segment. Alexander said he and Billy Buck needed a match with Hate
Junkies on May 28. Talent agreed and made it a falls count anywhere.
(2) Aden Chambers (with John Johnson) defeated Jacob Ashworth to retain the
NWA Anarchy Young Lion’s Championship in 11:41. Nice match. Good action and
they told a story. Ashworth got off to a fast start, using a dropkick and a sidewalk slam
for near falls. Chambers took liberties in the corner. Ashworth tossed him out, but
Chambers capitalized on Ashworth’s impatience. When Chambers did too much
arrogant lollygagging as he went up top, Ashworth ran up the ropes for an overhead
suplex. Both men down for a six count. Ashworth up and firing, then a power slam for
two. Chambers back with an enzuigiri and an STO for two. Ashworth blocked a
pedigree and hit Ashes To Ashes. That brought Johnson up to distract, allowing
Chambers to nail Ashworth with a DVD.
(3) Youth Gone Wild (Anthony Henry & Dustin Knight) beat Fabulous Blondes (Casey
Kage & Brian Rivers) to retain the NWA Anarchy Tag Team Championship in 9:41.
Kage had the quintessential platinum blonde hair and a great tan. A person with
knowledge of such things explained that Rivers’ hair color looked brassy because he
had not used the proper multi-stage process to achieve the look. Both Blondes have
good size. YWG hit a hot dive combo early. Blondes got heat on Knight. There was
nice exchange where Knight got Rivers in the crossface, and Rivers answered with
an armbar submission. Henry ran wild with the hot tag. YWG nailed each of the
Blondes with double enzuigiris. Knight pinned Rivers after their combo Go 2 Sleep,
which didn’t look all that great. Good match overall though.
(4) Shaun Tempers defeated Caprice Coleman to advance in the NWA North
American Title Tournament (13:51). This was the match of the night, featuring the top
performance of the night by Coleman. The guy has been wrestling for close to 15
years and he’s better than ever. He’s got a thicker, more chiseled physique and even
more amazing aerial skills than he did when he showed up in NWA Wildside in 2000,
and he can wrestle. They opened with a display of chain wrestling skills, which is
always a refreshing change at Anarchy. Tempers wasn’t faring well and wanted a TO.
Coleman wouldn’t let him have it. However, Tempers managed to take Coleman’s
knee out when he tried to fly. Not to be denied, Coleman came back with a
springboard leg lariat and an amazing springboard flying bodypress. Sin Cara has
nothing on him. With Tempers seated on the top turnbuckle, Coleman sprung from
the mat right into a super huracanrana. This reads like a one man show. Trust me, it
wasn’t. Tempers hung right with him and made a sturdy base for all the flying. I recall
thinking Tempers was a hopeless case when I first saw him on one of the Friday
night Wildside shows years ago. Like Gunner and Coleman, he’s a prime example of
what can be achieved by dedication to becoming a true professional. Tempers
blocked Thermal Shock. Coleman blocked the hangman’s neckbreaker and hit a
shining wizard. A timely side step by Tempers left Coleman seated on the top
turnbuckle. Tempers hit a a hanging hangman’s neckbreaker for the 1-2-3.
(5) Bo Newsom beat Skirra Corvus in 9:17. Technically, this was a fine match. What
was missing was the feeling of a true contest. The crowd wasn’t feeling it either. They
went through their pre-determined routine, which included way too many near falls.
Corvus kicked out of the Tiger Driver. Corvus then escaped from a super Tiger Driver
and brought Newsom off the top with a huracanrana –a really good move but it couldn’
t compare with what Coleman did in the previous match. Corvus ducked Newsom’s
springboard crossbody with one of his freaky double joined Matrix moves. As Corvus
came off the top, Newsom kicked him in the groin and scored the pinfall with a small
package.
(6) Brodie Chase beat Shaun Tempers (with Bo Newsom) in 4 seconds to retain
the NWA Anarchy TV Championship. Before the match, Tempers did some hilarious
mic work. He said he was going to be the new NWA North American champ and titles
were like girls – one is great and two are even better. He said “Bro” Newsom only
cares about victory and everyone would soon be chanting about his small package.
As soon as bell rang, Chase cradled Tempers with a small package. Tempers
started going nuts and Chase did it again. This got over like gangbusters. It was the
highlight of the second hour. All three including referee Ken Wallace were
tremendous with timing and facial expressions.
(7) Kimo beat Stryknyn (with “Reverend” Dan Wilson) via DQ in 4:16. This was a
fresh, intriguing match up. Kimo unleashed the martial arts attack. Stryknyn
capitalized on Rev’s interference to take over. At one point, Stryknyn tossed his belt to
Rev so he could choke Kimo with it. Kimo had Stryknyn in the Tongan Death Grip
when he was attacked by Azrael. Kimo held his own until the numbers game was too
much.
As Azrael was about to debilitate Kimo with the cutthroat tombstone piledriver,
Alexander ran out to make the save. Zero pop. It was weird. There’s a missing piece
as to Kimo’s status a babyface. He was Palmer’s ace in the hole. Now what?
Tim E. D. announced Azrael vs. Kimo for May 28.
(8) Shadow Jackson beat Jacoby Boykins (with John Johnson) to retain the NWA
Anarchy Heavyweight Championship in 10:28. OK match. No heat. Puzzling booking.
There was no rhyme or reason for Boykins getting a title shot. He hasn’t been
presented as a top tier guy. And if the purpose was to give Jackson a convincing win,
it shouldn't have been a 10 minute match. It was like fans were just waiting for
Jackson to beat him, and they had to wait too long. Early on, Jackson was too crafty
for the big man, but Boykins was eventually able to impose his will with the power
moves. Boykins got the bear hug. Jackson started to hulk up and Boykins cut him off.
Jackson evaded two elbow drops and the hulk up was on in full effect. Johnson
jumped up to interfere. Jackson tomahawk chopped Johnson on the top of head.
Jackson used a stunner, but Boykins got a foot on the ropes. Jackson then blocked
Boykins’ finisher and hit the 1031 for the pin.
Steven Walters came out alone to face Usual Suspects. That brought Talent back out.
He said the other half of New Wave, Derrick Driver, was still an hour away, but the
promised title match would take place with Coleman as Walters’ partner.
(9) Usual Suspects (Murder One & AJ Steele) beat Steven Walters & Caprice
Coleman to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship in 11:43. Crowd was
strangely subdued for such a good match. There obviously wasn’t going to be title
change with a substitute partner. The other thing was as badass as they are;
Suspects were babyfaced by not sticking with Bailey. I assume this was to done to
maintain consistency with their characters in RPW. From the opening bell, Coleman
and Walters were on fire. Coleman hit a spectacular springboard plancha on both
Suspects. They double teamed Steele, who answered with a massive double lariat.
Walters back took serious damage, as he was on the receiving end of a series of
impressive power from Steele. After a Walters enzuigiri, the tag was made setting up
more stellar work by Coleman. He hit the spin scissors kick on Steele, then teamed
up with Walters on the New Wave’s Double Vision move. Murder pulled Coleman out
and wasted him with a shot into the rail. Steele and Walters got their signal crossed,
and for a terrifying moment it appeared that Walters was going to land on his head
and wind up paralyzed. In the end, Murder One pinned Walters after Suspects hit a
glitchy version of the Violator 420. Crowd was deader than dead. It was an alarmingly
flat ending to the show.