Over six hours and a few hundred miles later, I arrived in Independence, Virginia for the latest stop on the Great Virginia Bash of 2005. It was definitely not a night to forget thanks to NWA-VA. It had unwilling blood, impromptu turns and matches, and a few more surprises here and there for all the fans in that school gym and like most shows, it started with a promo.
The Fab Foundation of Misty Malibu, Stan Lee, and Sexy Kevina came out and cut a heel promo. Well, kind of. They brought out the Xtreme Outlaws' manager Handsome Henry bound and gagged since Lee and a mystery partner were facing the Outlaws later tonight. Lee starts to go off on the mike, but the Outlaws run out and chase them away. After they freed their manager, he turned on them to get some pretty big heat in the old school crowd. Henry ran out and hid out with the Fab Foundation in typical heel manner while Rick O'Brien announced that Lee would have to go against the Outlaws with a member of the Fab Foundation: Handsome Henry! Typical turn segment, but it doesn't mean it was bad. Outlaws have a pretty decent following and rapport with the fans and they used that in this segment well. The Fab Foundation throws a hissy fit and we go into our first match.
NWA-VA Junior Heavyweight Championship
Grail (c) Vs. Alexx Sage
Definitely was looking forward to this match on the way over. Action was here and there for the most part with Grail doing some nice work on Sage's neck. In layman's terms, Grail has the gimmick of Taker and the strategy of Benoit so it's a nice combination and I think he pulls it off pretty well. It was a pure back and forth match with not a lot of high flying for two cruisers. Some may criticize that, but I would rather them just have a good match and give meaning to everything as opposed to flipping around. Finish came with Sage getting the win, but Grail's foot was on the ropes. Sage celebrated and lost his focus and as the match went on, Grail capitalized and went for the Tombstone to end it all.
Winner: Grail
Star Wrestler: Grail
I really enjoyed this match. It was a great opener and it fired the crowd up in action sense. I think Grail deserves most of the credit in this match though. Everything he did from the stares, taunts, pokes, suplexes, and more had meaning. Don't get me wrong, Sage was great here too, but Grail was the star in this star opening.
Sean Callaway Vs. Big Tony
Definitely the sleeper match of the night for some reason. Before the match, Callaway cut a great promo on the crowd and even tying in Bush to it somehow. It was great because the crowd was a little confused as to who was the face and who was the heel, and Callaway did his job to a T of letting them know who the mean guy here is. The match itself then started after the promo and let me just say: wow! This match really, really surprised me. It definitely wasn't the best match of the night, but the best surprise. Don't get me wrong, I don't think badly on the two workers, but they are still learning the ropes. This match was great though. Callaway was pushing the leg work on the 400 pound Tony very well with chop blocks and lots of holds. Tony, on the other hand, played to his strengths though with pure power. Pure power versus pure strategy. At one point, Tony went for a Belly-to-Belly suplex but instead of falling through, it literally looked like he picked him up and tossed him like a freakin' rag doll. That was impressive and set the tone for the story of the match very early on. Only part of the match I didn't like was the mounted punches in the turnbuckle spot. Callaway did some, taunted to the crowd, and Tony powered out. It just felt a little too drawn out for me. Finish came when Callaway tossed Tony the chain he used on the Italian early in the match. Callaway passed out a la Eddie Guerrero and Tony was DQed.
Winner: Sean Callaway
Star Wrestler: Sean Callaway
I think Big Tony really surprised me in this match the most for being a relatively new worker, but major props go to Sean Callaway. His promo was off the wall, his psychology was top notch, and his character was amazing. I loved this match and couldn't believe what I was seeing and I definitely can't wait to see another match between these two!
NWA-VA Alpha Championship
Submission Match
Chris Dramin (c) Vs. Mike Vaughn
Here was another match I was looking forward to, but unlike the opening, I was greatly disappointed. For defenses of this title, the challenger gets to pick the stipulation. Vaughn came out and took the mike and yakked about how Dramin said he had transcended the technical aspects of wrestling, so why not a good ol' fashioned submission match? This is when my mind screamed, "Yippy-skippy, this one is going to be good!" My mind is a little dumb here and there, excuse me. Anyway, Dramin was mostly going for the arm while Vaughn was doing neck working and they both did pretty good jobs of it. You think it would be good though, but you were wrong and in all honesty, nothing any of these guys did was to blame. The match was just way too short. Literally way too short. As soon as it started to get good, it felt like someone farted and it was done! Finish came when Vaughn set up a chair on the outside and tried to do a neckbreaker to Dramin on it. Dramin countered and laid Vaughn's arm hard on the chair. Back in the ring, Dramin locked in a variation of a Hammerlock and it was all over.
Winner: Chris Dramin
Star Wrestler: Hard To Tell
Match was really just starting to get going and I really can't remember being impressed by one more than the other. I later found out that Dramin had been busted open in the mouth. In Virginia, you can't have blood on shows so if someone is cut open accidentally; you have to get the blood out of sight in under a minute. Dramin was able to hide the blood and they just ended the match rather quickly. Damn you, DPOR. You ruined what could have been the best match of the night! Overall, decent match, but just not enough. Way too short and you can tell from what I just said and by watching it that they were just getting into it.
The technical booth had some major issues at this point and time and NWA-VA went straight for a pretty long intermission. Kind of sucks too. It was really no one's fault and I can tell a lot of people were pissed.
MECW Tag Team Championship
Xtreme Outlaws (c) Vs. Stan Lee & Handsome Henry
Definitely not my cup of tea in terms of matches, but it was definitely a crowd pleaser. All things aside, the match went literally way too long. It felt like I was watching the same things over and over again towards the end. Repetition was not that good to have in my mind, but the crowd didn't seem to notice. In fact, the crowd was so loud here that it gave me a headache. Pretty bad one too. Mikey McMasters played the face in peril for most of the match. If you've seen enough old NWA or better yet WWF tag team matches, you can pretty much guess the whole match here. While not an actual wrestler, Handsome Henry was mildly entertaining though and his get up looks like something the S.H.I.T. Rosey turned down. Finish came when Holliday hit the Overcast on Henry and McMasters hit the splash for the pin. Nice retribution and nice way to get the crowd back in after a long intermission.
Winners: Xtreme Outlaws
Star Wrestler: Mikey McMasters
I wasn't a big fan of this match, but I won't shit on it purely for the crowd working. They gave them reasons to pop and it's not like they sucked as bad as Ashley Massaro. I thought Mikey McMasters played a pretty good face in peril here and I really enjoyed watching the selling he did. It was good in a match full of mediocrity.
MECW Championship
Winner Takes All
Midnight Mauler (c) Vs. Sexy Kevina
Get ready for the "thrill" of a lifetime. Mauler talks up a decent promo talking about how Kevina always cheats so why not make it a winner takes all match? This means the title can change hands on anything from a DQ to a submission. Kind of pointless seeing as Mauler has nothing to gain from it. Both guys were incredibly over in this match, but the match itself was a complete and utter dud and I feel a bit bad saying that seeing as how the crowd must have had to change their underpants after the match from the amount of marking out. It was basically a horrible comedy match with crap wrestling unwillingly thrown in. The problem is that it shows that Kevina just does not want to take a bump. People just weren't meant to fall that way. There really isn't much I want to say else on CrapFest 2005, so the finish was basically the same as Tony-Callaway (which is sad since that one was miles better). Misty Malibu tossed the brass knux that Kevina had used to Mauler. Ref caught him and DQed him and Kevina won the title! Surprising change, in my opinion, and the crowd almost went postal.
Wrestler: Sexy Kevina
Star Wrestler: Midnight Mauler
Both were bad in this match, but at least Mauler was willing to bump. That's the bottom line, basically.
MECW Omega Championship
Battle Royal
Participants:
Sean Callaway, Chris Dramin, Big Tony, Mike Vaughan, Stan Lee, Sexy Kevina, Handsome Henry, Xtreme Outlaws, & Grail
For some reason unbeknownst to me, this championship is defended in battle royals. There is no belt and I don't even know who the champ is. Sad, huh? Anyway, definitely a filler match and I don't really judge filler matches well. It was all right at best. It had some good moments like Dramin chopping Callaway's ass and taunting Vaughn before the match started. Early in the match, Henry got knocked out in the corner and everyone left him alone. It was basically every man for himself with some nice chops thrown in. In the end, Holliday and Lee eliminated themselves and Henry was left alone in the ring and he won the belt. Yes, the manager who doesn't wrestle and just turned heel tonight won the damn thing. Don't ask me. This match definitely needed some Blaze chops in it, though.
Winner: Handsome Henry
Star Wrestler: Chris Dramin
Wasn't really a memorable match, but with Dramin chopping Callaway's ass and mocking Vaughn, he was basically the only good thing I remembered about the match. Well, that and Callaway selling the infamous ass chop.
NWA-VA Championship
Scotty Blaze (c) Vs. Frank Parker
Now, here is another match I was looking forward too but like Dramin-Vaughn, I was disappointed for the same reason. Same exact reason. Match basically started with hip tosses until Blaze clotheslined Parker out of the ring. Parker took a nasty spill and hit a metal ring on the apron or skirt (whatever you want to call it) and busted himself open. Due to DPOR regulations, the match had to be stopped. Parker was completely out of it and dazed and it looked like he had a concussion. It was really disappointing and sad for this to happen.
Winner: No Contest
Star Wrestler: You're joking, right?
While they tried to help Parker, all the wrestlers came out to check on him. Blaze and Vaughn basically locked eyes and challenged each other to give the fans what they paid for: a great main event. Even more, they definitely used all the wrestlers already out there to a great degree because we get...a lumberjack match!
NWA-VA Championship
Lumberjack Match
Scotty Blaze (c) Vs. Mike Vaughn
This match was completely impromptu and completely "had to be seen to be believed." It was amazing and hands down the best match of the night. Before the match, Vaughn talked about how he had already wrestled twice and he was at about 50%, but he could still take on Blaze and win the belt. The only thing I don't like about the concept is that Vaughn used to be a Junior champion; early in the show, he was challenging for the secondary title; and now, he's challenging for the top belt. I know it was spur of the moment and no plans were factored in, but still. I know I'm being an ass, so no need to say it. Although the two workers were great in this match, what truly made this match a mark-out moment was the lumberjacks. Everything they did was well-timed. At one point, Grail jumped on the apron and Blaze gave him a brutal chop that sent Grail right back down. Total mark-out moment. Vaughn and Blaze went basically back and forth with some nice simple holds and moves while telling a good story. Heel lumberjacks would hold and choke Blaze in the corner while Vaughn distracted the ref. They did this until the face lumberjacks came over and scared them off. Blaze was brutal with the chops in this match too. I have never seen a chest so red. Literally. I said it once and I'll say it again; no one chops harder than Scotty Blaze in this business. Blaze hits a curb stomp followed by the "Something Old, Something New" in the end and gets the win to bring me to my feet.
Winner: Scotty Blaze
Star Wrestler: Mike Vaughn
This match was off the charts. It was completely by the spur of the moment, and I love Blaze, but I got to give credit to Vaughn. First off, it was his third match of the night and he wrestled perfectly. Second off, he took those chops like a man. I have never seen a chest that red. I wish I would have gotten a copy of the picture they took backstage too. Damn! What a main event! I think the best part of this main event was that because it was impromptu, everything was done on the fly. You can really tell the value of a worker when he has to forget the whole script and just go on the fly with someone else.
Overall, the show was great. Live events always have a way of making everything good, even duds like the MECW title match. Ugh, I just remembered. They have a rematch in a casket soon. God help me. Show was definitely good though; no doubt about it my mind. Four great matches out of seven makes for a good show in my book especially when the main event makes you yelp in pain from the chops. You could literally feel them yourself. Like I said, it was a great show and not even that kid with the bowl cut hair and glasses on commentary couldn't ruin it. I can't wait for the show on the 24th! Well, that about it wraps up this time, folks. 'Till next time, this is "Squared Circle Reviews" signing off and hoping you enjoy what you watch!
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