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| July 27, 2007
Shadow Jackson became the new Alternative Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion last night at “Freedom Fight” in Royston, Georgia. It was APW’s most successful show since the company came into being. They drew a super hot crowd of 150, beating previous best by 50 and more than doubling the usual weekly gate, a nice payoff after what has been a long and difficult struggle for what has become a farm team for NWA Anarchy. All of the top matches had compelling storyline reasons behind them. Over the last two months, the booking here has really gotten in synch with the fans, a group that would have fit right at the late 90s Nashville Fairgrounds. Not a smart mark to be found. Give these people clearly defined characters they can connect with and care about. Then, let them fight. There’s no need in a whole lot of technical sophistication. That would only get in the way. Babyface love up and down the card and hatred for the heels. APW has been running the Royston Gym for the last 6 months after starting out in Bowman. It’s an exquisitely rundown building for wrestling, a classic smoke-filled room if smoking were still allowed. The lighting is old school – the only illumination comes from directly over the ring. A great place for heat because the sound reverberates like crazy. There’s no air conditioning, so it was sweltering in there after a humid 90 degree day, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. I guess they’re used to it. They kept things moving at a brisk pace to minimize burn out in the heat. Despite a lengthy intermission to set up the cage, the show clocked in at two and a half hours. Ring announcer Steven Prazak, the former ECW backstage interviewer and NWA Wildside television announcer opened the show by informing the fans the scheduled Southern States Title match between Austin Creed and Abomination wasn’t going to happen until next Friday night. It’s being billed as a Ty Cobb Street Fight. Royston would just another random, rural southern town except for the baseball Hall of Famer, who grew up there and first played ball for the Royston Rompers. (1) Jeremy Vain & Don Matthews beat Adrian Hawkins & Randall Johnson in 10:56 Strong heat. The babyface team cleared the ring. Hawkins then faked the heels out to set up a goofy looking dive by Johnson. Hawkins has upped his game to where his work is on par with his push at Anarchy. Vain did his mean face. That didn’t do much good as his arm was getting worked over. The tide turned when Matthews turned Johnson’s aerial maneuver into a cool fireman’s carry hotshot. Matthews choked Johnson with his confederate do-rag and chopped the hell out of him. V catapulted Johnson’s head into the turnbuckle for a two count, and hit a leg lariat for another. Matthews used a full nelson side slam for a near fall. It was both men down after a sunset powerbomb by Johnson that did not look good at all. Hot tag. Hawkins and Johnson hit a double stalling suplex on Vain for a near fall. Matthews pulled Johnson out and posted him. Hawkins appeared to have Vain pinned with a reverse roll up when Matthews put his lights out with The Lariat. Vain pinned Hawkins. Good opener. (2) Wes Grissom beat Salvatore Rinauro 7:40 Rinauro did an awesome job of guiding Grissom through the match. Grissom has instantly gotten over as a way-too-skinny white meat underdog with a look the teenage girls love. And the kid has heart. Rinauro got heat with his uber arrogance. He chain wrestled rings around Grissom and acted like this was going to be a piece of cake. A series of Grissom armdrags left Rinauro with a stunned look on his face. Rinauro roughed the kid up. It isn’t often that Rinauro has a big edge in strength and power, so he took full advantage of the opportunity with a 20 count stalling suplex, a running atomic drop and a Rude Awakening. Grissom did get a nice leapfrog-dropkick hope spot. Rinauro hit a Razor’s Edge and made a nonchalant back cover. Grissom reversed it with a crucifix to score the flash pin. The finish got a great pop. (3) Alexander Phoenix & Jason Dirt (with Rob Adonis) beat Sly Storm & Chris Blade in 7:19 The low point of the show. Phoenix and Dirt were billed as Adonis’ student. Dirt has potential. Phoenix is the pits. Adonis is stealing his money. He did the most ridiculous miss-by-a-mile lariat I’ve ever seen. GWP should book him in a three way with Psycho Man and Locomotive. Blade did a top rope double stomp that looked like a bunny hop. The babys made themselves look weak with superfluous saves by Blade and wimpy kick outs by Storm. You know it’s an easy crowd when they accept stuff at this level. Blade ran wild. It was time for Adonis to get into the act. With Dirt providing the distraction, he laid Blade to waste with an F-5 type maneuver and spinebustered Storm. Dirt then pinned Blade with an assist from Adonis. Ugly match. (4) Reuben James beat Nick Halen in 7:33 James has interesting charisma as a heel. Halen was in control until James caught him with a powerslam. James blasted Halen with European forearms. Halen tagged James with right hands and hit a pair of German suplexes. James responded with a pair of Northern lights suplexes. James hit a springboard back elbow for a two count. The crowd got behind Halen. Halen hit German suplex number three and went up top with a swanton bomb. Referee Ken Wallace made the three count, but waved it off when he saw James’ foot resting on the bottom rope. James grabbed Wallace to prevent him from seeing his mule kick to Halen’s groin. James hit his finisher and it’s a good one. James looks to be setting up a Gori Special and then he flips his victim into sitout faceplant. (5) J. T. Talent beat Slim J in a taped fist match (14:22) J pounded Talent, tossed him into the ringsteps, and gave him a backdrop over the rail. J then sent Talent tumbling down the bleachers. Back inside the ring, J mounted Talent and rained down taped fists. But Talent managed to crotch J on the top rope and drop him on his head. Talent pounded on J. Talent scored a series of near falls. The crowd chanted for Slimmy. Talent was looking pretty spent, and the oppressive heat wasn’t doing him any favors. J blocked a superplex and hit his flying reverse DDT. J hit a fishermanbuster for a near fall. Talent turned J inside out with a clothesline. J blocked Talent’s finisher and got him with the package piledriver, but Talent got a foot over the ropes. Talent hit a wheelbarrow full nelson faceplant. It looked mighty devastating, but J kicked out. J countered Talent’s finisher again and connected with a roundhouse to the temple. J went to the top. Talent shoved referee Dee Byers into the ropes to upend J. Talent clocked J with a chain for the 1-2-3. The disappointment among the fans was palpable. The heels had won all but one match. (6) Billy Buck & Ska8er Boy King beat Friday Night Franchise (Ryan Michaels & Matt Sells with Kevin Duncan) to win the APW tag team titles in 15:40 FNF don’t look like much, but that’s the beauty of the indietastic world of APW. Their like a classic heel tag team from back in the day, using all the dirty tricks and working together like a well-oiled machine. Duncan told the fans to spread their chairs apart so as not to start a grease fire. Buck and King are super over. Especially Buck. King didn’t get flustered by Sells’ chops. He fired back and worked on the arm, which was getting repetitious. Every time somebody worked a body part on this show, it was the arm. Michaels pimp slapped Buck and ate a receipt. Buck and King did some tandem moves on Michaels. But FNF did them one better with a sweet kneelift/neckbreaker combo on King. Sells dumped King so Duncan and Michaels could put the boots to him. Michaels hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. The fans were pulling strong for King here. FNF did a bigtime distraction and chicanery job on the ref. Michaels hit a spinebuster slam and made a one foot cover for the second time. There should be a one per match limit on that spot. King floated over into a reverse DDT to set up the hot tag. Buck hit a butterfly drop on Michaels, but Sells broke up the pin. King hit a rocker dropper on Michaels and Duncan interfered. Buck chased Duncan. King did a dive onto FNF. Buck got Michaels with an inside cradle, and they did the deal where the heel turns the pile and then the babyface reverses it the other way. It calls for timing and ring positioning, and this finish had neither. Referee Randy Ray was looking right at it when King put Buck back on top of Michaels. The crowd popped just the same. (7) Shadow Jackson beat Simon Sermon to win the APW Heavyweight Title inside a steel cage (14:05) This was the blowoff of a great feud that has been building for months. It was a heated brawl for sure, but after all the crap Sermon has put Jackson through, I expected Jackson’s revenge to be more violent and more decisive. Jackson is every bit as over in APW as he is at NWA Anarchy. Sermon bashed Jackson in the head with the cage door, and the match started on the floor. Jackson was busted open. Jackson sent Sermon flying through a section of chairs. Jackson stomped a chair into Sermon’s head. Before throwing Sermon inside the cage, Jackson paused to punch him in the nuts. Once inside the cage, Sermon cut off Jackson’s attack with a low blow. Sermon between the ropes and the cage and started grinding his face into the fence. Jackson was bleeding heavily. Jackson’s taped fist was covered in blood. Feeding off the crowd’s energy, Jackson became impervious to Sermons’ blows and made a bionic comeback. Sermon crowned Jackson with his kneebrace. Jackson was convulsing as Sermon covered him for a two count, but Jackson kept coming back. Sermon hit a Harley Race knee and bit Jackson’s forehead to where his face was covered with Jackson’s blood. They battled with both men standing on the top rope. Jackson smashed Sermon’s head into the cage, and Sermon fell crotch first on the top rope. Jackson gave him a ride. Jackson decked Sermon with a lariat. Vain ran out to divert Jackson’s attention by climbing the cage, so Matthews could throw a set of handcuffs to Sermon. Sermon blasted Jackson with the handcuffs, but Jackson kicked out. Jackson made the superman comeback. Sermon tried for his cutthroat neckbreaker, and Jackson countered with a spinebuster slam to score the pinfall. The show closed with a standing ovation for the new champion. NOTES: Along with Creed vs. Abomination in a street fight for the Southern States Title, Jackson makes his first title defense when APW returns to the Royston Gym on 8/3…Vain (c) vs. Jackson for the MAXW heavyweight title headlines the MAXW “Supercard” show tonight in Williamston, SC at the Municipal Center. All titles defended. Slim J takes on Caleb Konley. Rinauro, Matthews, Hawkins, Johnson, Talent, Michaels, Grissom, Storm and Blade are also booked on the MAXW show…GWP is at Waleska Park this Sunday night headlined by Buff Bagwell vs. Kory Chavis with Commissioner Jerry Palmer as the special referee…The 8/4 NWA Anarchy television taping will feature a Mega Rumble to determine the number one contender for the heavyweight title held by Ace Rockwell, and the NWA Elite challenging Awesome Attraction for the tag titles. |
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