The Commissioner's Review of NWA-U's Candido Cup
Jul 23, 2005 20:53:39 GMT -5
Post by thefamoustommyz on Jul 23, 2005 20:53:39 GMT -5
I don't get to go to indy shows, or any wrestling shows, real often...so last night, I loaded up the family and we saw us some wrasslin'...
Imagine, in the middle of a heatwave, sitting inside a big metal building with no windows and no air conditioning.
Awesome, huh?
Chris Daniels and The Naturals set up before the show, selling t-shirts, pictures (Naturals were also selling TNA DVDs) and signing autographs. I got a picture with Daniels and The Naturals that is posted in the TNA forums, and met with some of the other stars on the show, including "Sweet Dreams" Gary Gram, who I asked for an autograph a couple of years ago when he came into my workplace. It was pretty cool, as he recognized me as well.
This turned into an interminably long hour, with the heat killing a lot of enthusiam for everyone except Daniels, who was pimping his stuff HARD. Finally, I broke down and bought a shirt, which he autographed, then my wife did the same.
Unfortunately, we were left sitting for another 15 minutes in the heat before they started the show.
Chris Fox, NWA-U's president, came out and gave a fairly uncharismatic speech trying to rally the crowd. Then he brought out Summer Rain, the wife(?) of sometime WWE jobber Brandon Groom, to sing the national anthem...which she killed in excruciating fashion...but no worse than at most sporting events.
Finally, they brought out the Candido Cup participants The Naturals, Gary Gram, Justin Lee, Mitch Carter, Tyler Bateman, Michael Barry and Brandon Groom, with valets Sassy Merlot and Summer Rain in tow. The Naturals said a few words about Candido and what he meant to them, placed an honorary towel on a chair outside the ring, and they gave a ten bell salute.
NWA-Universal X Champion "Sweet Dreams" Gary Gram vs "Mr. Saturday Night" Michael Barry w/Sassy Merlot
- Sassy's kinda hot. This match kicked off my wife gradually moving away from me as I tried to rile the crowd up in the heat. Got a few "Let's Go, Gary" chants going. Match wasn't very crisp, but was watchable. Definitely not what you expect from an X Division champ. Finish came when Gary countered a superplex with a cross body block for the pin.
Andy Douglas vs Brandon Groom w/Summer Rain
- I totally winced when I saw this one, as Groom has never really impressed me. Well, either Douglas is much better than I thought, or Groom keeps getting saddled with bad opponents. The biggest weakeness was Groom was expecting to play face in front of a hometown crowd, but even Tahlequah, Oklahoma apparently knows who The Naturals are. Groom dominated a good portion with power moves, including an spinning belly to belly that would have made Scott Steiner proud. Groom and Summer Rain reluctantly played heel at the end, with Summer trying to trip Douglas, leading to him pulling her up on the apron. Groom attacked from behind, but Douglas did a standing switch, rammed Groom into Summer and rolled him up for the win.
Post-match, The New Texas Outlaws attacked Groom, turning him back face, and whipping him with a leather strap. I started the first "Texas Sucks!" chant of the night.
Tyler Bateman vs "The Broken Arrow Bad Boy" Justin Lee
- Tyler came out acting like Eugene...just, you know, punk and on crack. Tyler tried to kick some little piece of paper or something off the apron, only to have it get caught in the fans running in the building and be blown back into the ring. It was hilarious, if only because it was unplanned. Justin Lee, who won the Southern States Super 8 Tournament I attended three years ago, was out next...have updated his gimmick from "The Future" to "The Broken Arrow Bad Boy", and apparently his arsenal went from high spots to strikes. Lots of comedic stalling, as the MUCH taller Bateman tried to goad Justin into a test of strength, except Justin couldn't reach his hands.
Once the action got underway, Lee and Bateman didn't disappoint, hitting some vicious Flair chops, some Tajiri-esque kicks and a nice Yakuza kick, which was really cute, considering the height difference. Lee also hit two huracanranas, one off the top rope, the only ones of the night. A series of standing switches led to a German suplex from Justin onto the back of Tyler's head, which is pretty rough to see in person.
Lee pulled off the win in the best match of the night so far...but his showmanship seemed to have taken a hit in the last three years, whereas Bateman's DRAMATICALLY improved.
Chase Stevens vs Mitch Carter
- Mitch was a substitute for Scotty Charisma, who was subbing for The Shadow, and didn't find out until an hour before the show that he was working tonight. Great match as Mitch is an awesome geeky, chickensh*t heel and Chase was playing up total face. Chase was about twice Mitch's size and dominated him except for the cheap shots. Lots of great stalling tactics from Mitch, and a series of "Mitch is Gay" chants that drove him batty. Mitch did get the upper hand, hitting a swank DDT, but Chase hit a monster rally, finishing with an awesome fireman's carry into a facebreaker that Mitch sold by bouncing right to his feet...just so Chase could Superkick his face in for the pin.
Mitch laid in the ring for a good minute, leading to me chanting "Mitch is Dead!" which a loud section of the crowd picked up on.
"Sweet Dreams" Gary Gram vs Andy Douglas
- A lot of the energy died right here...but you have to understand...it was REALLY freaking hot, both guys were trying to work as faces, and they were using a ton of restholds. Douglas mercifully won, ending the worst match of the night.
Justin Lee vs Chase Stevens
- Lee came out trying to rally some "Oklahoma Pride", but the fans turned on him violently...especially when Stevens came out. The two played to the crowd, with Stevens getting a much better reaction, which led to a Justin cheapshot. Stevens rolled Lee up out of nowhere seconds in, getting the win...setting up The Naturals in the finals.
- During a brief intermission, I changed into my Fallen Angel t-shirt and got Tyler Bateman, Brandon Groom and Justin Lee to sign my Southern States Super 8 t-shirt from three years ago...Justin seemed superpumped to see it, pointing it out to his Mom, who also kindly took a picture of me, him and my son that I WON'T post, because it came out BAD thanks to all the sweating we'd been doing at that point. Justin also pimped the Tornado Pro Wrestling academy to me, while also trying to not put down NWA-Universal's.
A random drawing was held for a replica title belt, which some little kid won, and NWA-U's President threatened him if he found it on eBay...=)
NWA-U's Heavyweight champ "Big" John O'Malley was the guest ref for the finals, featuring Douglas vs Stevens. Stevens got in the stick beforehand and asked us if we could have IMAGINED that this would be the finals...to which we all said "Yeah, pretty much!"
the ensuing bout was a great comedy match that started when each man tried to kick the other in the crotch, catching his partner's leg, then accusing him of playing dirty. A ton of spots played out like this, including double eye gouges and a nice double chokehold, in which the ref took turns counting "1...1...2...2..." They also turned on the ref, poking his eyes and depantsing him...leading to him bailing out of the ring and the Naturals giving him a ten count, which he barely beat.
The finally got down to business, and during the wrestling sequence, O'Malley got bumped. Douglas and Stevens wound up in a double cradle, and O'Malley counted one down, while another ref counted the other down. Surprisingly, this resolved itself with both men being named the winner of the Candido Cup.
Chris Daniels then crashed the show, sharing his thoughts on Candido, and then accusing The Naturals of dragging him down. Daniels and Stevens wound up agreeing to face off in the main event, after a quick interview John O'Malley about the show going on tonight, which I'm not at. O'Malley said his partner for the main event of tonight's show, Scotty Charisma, was MIA...and his opponents for said match, The New Texas Outlaws, came out to beat him down. Well, I was apparently the only one who remembered the earlier angle, and started the "We Want Groom" chant...complete with reminding my wife *why* I called for that. Groom and O'Malley cleaned house, and a partnership was formed.
On with the show, Daniels vs Stevens was a pretty nice match, with Daniels and Stevens both showing their experience working in front of a crowd. Douglas cheated a few times to keep a tired Stevens into the match, including pulling the ref out of the ring. Daniels tried to pin Stevens with his feet on the top rope, but Douglas shoved him off. Stevens got the same cradle, complete with feet on the ropes, and Douglas held his legs to the ropes, letting Stevens get the pin.
The Naturals celebrated as Daniels threw a hellacious tantrum and one last "Candido" chant broke out.
Imagine, in the middle of a heatwave, sitting inside a big metal building with no windows and no air conditioning.
Awesome, huh?
Chris Daniels and The Naturals set up before the show, selling t-shirts, pictures (Naturals were also selling TNA DVDs) and signing autographs. I got a picture with Daniels and The Naturals that is posted in the TNA forums, and met with some of the other stars on the show, including "Sweet Dreams" Gary Gram, who I asked for an autograph a couple of years ago when he came into my workplace. It was pretty cool, as he recognized me as well.
This turned into an interminably long hour, with the heat killing a lot of enthusiam for everyone except Daniels, who was pimping his stuff HARD. Finally, I broke down and bought a shirt, which he autographed, then my wife did the same.
Unfortunately, we were left sitting for another 15 minutes in the heat before they started the show.
Chris Fox, NWA-U's president, came out and gave a fairly uncharismatic speech trying to rally the crowd. Then he brought out Summer Rain, the wife(?) of sometime WWE jobber Brandon Groom, to sing the national anthem...which she killed in excruciating fashion...but no worse than at most sporting events.
Finally, they brought out the Candido Cup participants The Naturals, Gary Gram, Justin Lee, Mitch Carter, Tyler Bateman, Michael Barry and Brandon Groom, with valets Sassy Merlot and Summer Rain in tow. The Naturals said a few words about Candido and what he meant to them, placed an honorary towel on a chair outside the ring, and they gave a ten bell salute.
NWA-Universal X Champion "Sweet Dreams" Gary Gram vs "Mr. Saturday Night" Michael Barry w/Sassy Merlot
- Sassy's kinda hot. This match kicked off my wife gradually moving away from me as I tried to rile the crowd up in the heat. Got a few "Let's Go, Gary" chants going. Match wasn't very crisp, but was watchable. Definitely not what you expect from an X Division champ. Finish came when Gary countered a superplex with a cross body block for the pin.
Andy Douglas vs Brandon Groom w/Summer Rain
- I totally winced when I saw this one, as Groom has never really impressed me. Well, either Douglas is much better than I thought, or Groom keeps getting saddled with bad opponents. The biggest weakeness was Groom was expecting to play face in front of a hometown crowd, but even Tahlequah, Oklahoma apparently knows who The Naturals are. Groom dominated a good portion with power moves, including an spinning belly to belly that would have made Scott Steiner proud. Groom and Summer Rain reluctantly played heel at the end, with Summer trying to trip Douglas, leading to him pulling her up on the apron. Groom attacked from behind, but Douglas did a standing switch, rammed Groom into Summer and rolled him up for the win.
Post-match, The New Texas Outlaws attacked Groom, turning him back face, and whipping him with a leather strap. I started the first "Texas Sucks!" chant of the night.
Tyler Bateman vs "The Broken Arrow Bad Boy" Justin Lee
- Tyler came out acting like Eugene...just, you know, punk and on crack. Tyler tried to kick some little piece of paper or something off the apron, only to have it get caught in the fans running in the building and be blown back into the ring. It was hilarious, if only because it was unplanned. Justin Lee, who won the Southern States Super 8 Tournament I attended three years ago, was out next...have updated his gimmick from "The Future" to "The Broken Arrow Bad Boy", and apparently his arsenal went from high spots to strikes. Lots of comedic stalling, as the MUCH taller Bateman tried to goad Justin into a test of strength, except Justin couldn't reach his hands.
Once the action got underway, Lee and Bateman didn't disappoint, hitting some vicious Flair chops, some Tajiri-esque kicks and a nice Yakuza kick, which was really cute, considering the height difference. Lee also hit two huracanranas, one off the top rope, the only ones of the night. A series of standing switches led to a German suplex from Justin onto the back of Tyler's head, which is pretty rough to see in person.
Lee pulled off the win in the best match of the night so far...but his showmanship seemed to have taken a hit in the last three years, whereas Bateman's DRAMATICALLY improved.
Chase Stevens vs Mitch Carter
- Mitch was a substitute for Scotty Charisma, who was subbing for The Shadow, and didn't find out until an hour before the show that he was working tonight. Great match as Mitch is an awesome geeky, chickensh*t heel and Chase was playing up total face. Chase was about twice Mitch's size and dominated him except for the cheap shots. Lots of great stalling tactics from Mitch, and a series of "Mitch is Gay" chants that drove him batty. Mitch did get the upper hand, hitting a swank DDT, but Chase hit a monster rally, finishing with an awesome fireman's carry into a facebreaker that Mitch sold by bouncing right to his feet...just so Chase could Superkick his face in for the pin.
Mitch laid in the ring for a good minute, leading to me chanting "Mitch is Dead!" which a loud section of the crowd picked up on.
"Sweet Dreams" Gary Gram vs Andy Douglas
- A lot of the energy died right here...but you have to understand...it was REALLY freaking hot, both guys were trying to work as faces, and they were using a ton of restholds. Douglas mercifully won, ending the worst match of the night.
Justin Lee vs Chase Stevens
- Lee came out trying to rally some "Oklahoma Pride", but the fans turned on him violently...especially when Stevens came out. The two played to the crowd, with Stevens getting a much better reaction, which led to a Justin cheapshot. Stevens rolled Lee up out of nowhere seconds in, getting the win...setting up The Naturals in the finals.
- During a brief intermission, I changed into my Fallen Angel t-shirt and got Tyler Bateman, Brandon Groom and Justin Lee to sign my Southern States Super 8 t-shirt from three years ago...Justin seemed superpumped to see it, pointing it out to his Mom, who also kindly took a picture of me, him and my son that I WON'T post, because it came out BAD thanks to all the sweating we'd been doing at that point. Justin also pimped the Tornado Pro Wrestling academy to me, while also trying to not put down NWA-Universal's.
A random drawing was held for a replica title belt, which some little kid won, and NWA-U's President threatened him if he found it on eBay...=)
NWA-U's Heavyweight champ "Big" John O'Malley was the guest ref for the finals, featuring Douglas vs Stevens. Stevens got in the stick beforehand and asked us if we could have IMAGINED that this would be the finals...to which we all said "Yeah, pretty much!"
the ensuing bout was a great comedy match that started when each man tried to kick the other in the crotch, catching his partner's leg, then accusing him of playing dirty. A ton of spots played out like this, including double eye gouges and a nice double chokehold, in which the ref took turns counting "1...1...2...2..." They also turned on the ref, poking his eyes and depantsing him...leading to him bailing out of the ring and the Naturals giving him a ten count, which he barely beat.
The finally got down to business, and during the wrestling sequence, O'Malley got bumped. Douglas and Stevens wound up in a double cradle, and O'Malley counted one down, while another ref counted the other down. Surprisingly, this resolved itself with both men being named the winner of the Candido Cup.
Chris Daniels then crashed the show, sharing his thoughts on Candido, and then accusing The Naturals of dragging him down. Daniels and Stevens wound up agreeing to face off in the main event, after a quick interview John O'Malley about the show going on tonight, which I'm not at. O'Malley said his partner for the main event of tonight's show, Scotty Charisma, was MIA...and his opponents for said match, The New Texas Outlaws, came out to beat him down. Well, I was apparently the only one who remembered the earlier angle, and started the "We Want Groom" chant...complete with reminding my wife *why* I called for that. Groom and O'Malley cleaned house, and a partnership was formed.
On with the show, Daniels vs Stevens was a pretty nice match, with Daniels and Stevens both showing their experience working in front of a crowd. Douglas cheated a few times to keep a tired Stevens into the match, including pulling the ref out of the ring. Daniels tried to pin Stevens with his feet on the top rope, but Douglas shoved him off. Stevens got the same cradle, complete with feet on the ropes, and Douglas held his legs to the ropes, letting Stevens get the pin.
The Naturals celebrated as Daniels threw a hellacious tantrum and one last "Candido" chant broke out.
