I'm going to try to make this short (short for me anyway....haha) since I know I won't have the time to do this tomorrow and I need to get some sleep tonight. Here's what happened:
The first thing I noticed is that apparently, they are remodeling the upper deck of the Coliseum. They had curtains all around the balcony.
The show started pretty much on time tonight
which was a bit shocking. The crowd was kind of weak, especially considering the stacked card that was planned. The show started with some ring announcer guy coming out who I'd never seen before. He was a younger guy and was using a wireless mic that was turned down so far that you couldn't hear a word he was saying. The one thing I remember him saying was that senior ref, Dave Matthews had suffered a seizure and had been in the hospital, but he's out now and getting better. Get well, Dave!!!
Sexy as Falk (L.T. Falk and some guy with "DH" on his tights) vs. Revolution OneAs I said, you couldn't hear a word the ring announcer was saying so I have no clue who these Rev. One guys were....or if that was even their team name. They were both young guys. One was tall and thin and the other kind of reminded me of Cloudy (or Cheech and Cloudy fame). L.T.'s partner was also a young guy. It was funny to see L.T. as the "veteran" of the match. The match was decent. The young guys really worked hard and pulled off a few good moves. L.T. looked great, as he usually does. Nothing really stood out in the match but in the end, L.T. got the pin on the taller guy after him and his partner pulled off a "London Bridge" style move.
Before the next match, some large woman came out and got the Juggalos in attendance to do their normal chants....and then....she left. Completely pointless stuff.....NEXT!!!
Lonestar vs. Chris HallI'm not completely sure, but I think this Chris Hall guy was the same Chris "Madness" Hall who I used to see at IPW shows a few years ago. He got hurt and stopped working their shows and I never knew what became of him. Anyway, he was a large, bald guy who reminded me of pre-ROH Micheal Elgin. Lonestar was WAY over with the fans. The match was slow and stiff. Both guys were like two bulls in the ring. They brawled some on the outside. At one point, Hall hit a spinebuster on Star. In the end, Star got Hall up in a fireman's carry and then dropped him in a Ace crusher style move and got the pin. After the match, Star looked to have hurt his knee some.
Micus Silva vs. Dave Crist vs. Shank BarziniIt was a bit surreal to see Crist actually come out for behind the curtain....and to "We Are 138" by The Misfits, no less! I popped for Crist, but I was the only one. No one else even had the slightest clue who he was.....ah, gotta love Evansville wrestling fans! Crist looked in great shape, considering that earlier this year, he was starting to look a bit flabby. The match was awesome! All three guys worked their butts off and all three of them looked like a million bucks! They did the usual "every takes a turn doing a dive to the outside" spot. Crist pulled off his awesome backwards flip style move to perfection. The real highlights of the match for me were whenever Crist and Shank were in the ring together. A singles match between those two needs to happen in a place where more people will see it.....IPW....IWA:MS.....are you guys listening? Probably not....Anyway, in the end, Crist and Shank were fighting on the top rope. Silva came up behind Shank and got under him as if to do a powerbomb, but instead, Crist jumped off the top rope and hit an AWESOME reverse cutter move on Shank from Sliva's shoulders. I can honestly say I've never seen that move before and it was great! He then super kicked Silva and pinned Shank. AWESOME MATCH!!!! After it was over, Crist put both guys over.
Next was an intermission and then, the Cosby kids (that makes me chuckle!) came out and said something that was hard to understand. It was also announced that the Fort Branch hardcore show has been canceled.
Dog Collar Match
2 Tuff Tony vs. JP LightningMan, JP has got to be the biggest heel in Evansville these days. JP got on the mic and did a lot of "I'm not doing this!" kind of heel stuff but once he got the collar on, the fight was on. Tony is really becoming more and more like Pondo....he moved so slow, but he's really one of those guys that you almost don't mind it because he is who he is. They brawled around on the floor and JP got busted open. Once things were reversed, JP busted Tony open too. Once they got back in the ring, Tony suplexed JP onto an open chair and JP dislocated his shoulder. Tony pinned him quickly and they tried to do a spot with JP kicking Tony in the balls, but he was in a lot of pain and kicked him and then ran to the back. Tony got on the mic and said he pinned JP because he knew he had dislocated his shoulder but next time, he wouldn't go so easy on him. Tony then apologized for having to cut the match short.
Adam Gooch vs. BJ WhitmerGooch had some manager guy with him and BJ came out with the boy Cosby kid. The match started with BJ beating the crap out of Gooch but then his manager distracted the ref and Gooch got the upper hand. As much as I hate to say it, once again, Gooch looked impressive. Course, Whitmer also sold like a million bucks which didn't hurt either. Once Whitmer fought back, Gooch's manager pulled out a chain but the Cosby kid grabbed it and ran away. Gooch tried to cheat to pin Whitmer several times, but Whitmer kept kicking out. In the end, Whiter hit a super-plex from the second rope and floated over and rolled Gooch up for the pin. So now, Whitmer gets a title match whenever he wants one against Gooch. He got on the mic and said that he could have one now, but Gooch ran away. Awesome match!!!
Next was another intermission. The highlights of this one included Sammy almost getting into a legit fight with one of the security guys. Also, Whitmer came out and was talking to some fans. He was smiling, laughing and looked to be having a great time. I'm just glad that he's back in the indy scene because the guy is one of the very best out there right now!
Main Event
Hardcore Falls Count Anywhere Match
Mad Man Pondo & Necro Butcher vs. "Juicy" Jimmy Feltcher & Kaige KutlerSadly, The Hooligans were nowhere to be found. So, this pretty much was the exact same kind of match they had last time I went to a CCW show, only Jimmy had a different partner. Jimmy brought out with him and very feminine-acting emo kid he called his new manager. I think he called him Vicious or something. Once Pondo and Necro came out, the fight was on. The funniest part was watching Necro try to lift Jimmy over the rail, failing and saying, "He's just too d**n heavy!" Pondo and Kutler were fighting on the other side. I made my way over to them and someone yelled, "Take it outside!" Pondo said, "WHAT??? OK!!!!" and out we went. Jimmy looked as though he didn't really want to be out there, I guess since he got the snot beaten out of him last time they were outside, but Pondo was going after him with a fork and Jimmy was bleeding all over the place. Someone handed Pondo and staple gun and he stapled Jimmy's "lower nutsack region" (trademark: Dave Prazak!) Pondo handed the gun back to someone but then someone handed Pondo a dollar bill. Pondo said, "Thanks!" and shoved it into his pocket. And then someone else did too and he said, "Anyone else want to give me some money?" Necro and Jimmy ended up going back inside, but Pondo and Kutler made their way over to the lawn of the Courthouse. They threw each other into a sign and fought on a stone bench that was in the grass. There was also a "No Parking" sign laying on the sidewalk which Pondo asked a guy to hold up and he threw Kutler into it. They made their way back to the building and inside, Jimmy and Necro were in the ring hitting each other with a water jug bat and Playstation 2. They all fought in the ring some and then Necro hit a tiger bomb on Kutler and pinned him.
After the match, Pondo got on the mic and put over anyone and everyone and thanked us all for coming out. That was pretty much it.
All in all, it was a very solid show. However, I couldn't help put feel as though some things were a little "off", so to speak. I just hope that next time Necro's around, they don't just have him beating up Jimmy and whoever his partner is this week. As much as I hate to say it, that is getting a little old. But still, it was fun.....but I also have to admit that I was kinda hoping to see The Hooligans against Pondo and Necro. Oh well...maybe next time.
Still, there's little to really complain about. The Crist/Silva/Shank match was awesome and my pick for match of the night. And it was followed close behind by the Whitmer/Gooch match. Those two matches alone made me feel as though I got my money's worth. And...how can you NOT have fun watching Pondo and Necro....even if what they were doing felt like it had been done before? All in all, it was a solid, fun night.
Well...next for me is something different. This weekend, I'm heading off to a vacation in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina which is going to include my first ever live Chikara show in a town called Kingsport, TN. The card for that show is absolutely STACKED!!!!! I shall post a report after it happens, needless to say. But for now, I'm off to bed....G'Night!
which was a bit shocking. The crowd was kind of weak, especially considering the stacked card that was planned. The show started with some ring announcer guy coming out who I'd never seen before. He was a younger guy and was using a wireless mic that was turned down so far that you couldn't hear a word he was saying. The one thing I remember him saying was that senior ref, Dave Matthews had suffered a seizure and had been in the hospital, but he's out now and getting better. Get well, Dave!!!