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November 22, 2008
– Larry Goodman
This week’s show opened with a rundown of the card for Tennessee Homecoming 2008 pushing it as an historic wrestling event.
The main events: a two ring battle royal with the winner to receive the Nick Gulas Memorial Cup and $1000, and Brian Christopher vs.
Doug Gilbert in a grudge match.
Then to a repeat airing of the Brian Christopher promo from last week.
Tyler Clemmons was MIA, so Jason James was joined by a succession of color commentators, starting with Harry Ballsack aka former
NWA Main Event announcer Lonewolf
1 – “The Internet’s Favorite Wrestler� WHITE TIGER vs. “Internet’s Favorite Wrestler #2� LARRY COOTER
Ballsack announced the opening of the Main Event you tube site. Tiger did a springboard backflip to reverse an armbar that looked
shockingly good compared to the rest of his offense. When Tiger went for a pescado, Cooter made the catch and rammed his back into
the ringpost. James claimed Cooter was the legit grandson of the owner of Cooter’s Garage in the television version of Dukes of
Hazzard.
Winner: Cooter in 6:25 with a pumphandle power slam. It’s a monumental task for a good wrestler to carry one of these guys to a
decent. Putting them together was asking for trouble. Ballsack’s tongue-in-cheek commentary only made matters worse. It didn’t
make me laugh, but it did make feel stupid for watching this junk.
Cooter promo for a match against “Mean� Mike Woods at the Homecoming show that never happened. Cooter said it would be a
case of the student teaching the teacher a lesson.
2 – DYRON FLYNN vs. BRYAN CASEY
Cameraman Cal Varnson on color for this match. Casey dominated. They made a deal out of Casey being the descendant of a famous
wrestler, obviously Rick Rude. Casey did the swivel hips. At one point, Varnson compared Flynn’s footwork to Michael Flatley from
Riverdance. James topped him.
�Irish people know how to do one of two things, drink or fight, and the kid’s too young to drink, so he better learn how to fight.�
In discussing the Christopher/Gilbert match, Varnson said “Big Sexy� was one of his favorites. Casey went up top and got
slammed ala Flair to same up a lame comeback by Flynn, who ended up spearing the post. Casey used the Rude Awakening for his
finisher.
Winner: Casey in 5:40 with the Rude Awakening. Casey’s wrestling looked solid. It’s already well established that Flynn sucks
monkey balls. Casey has a much slighter build than Rude, but the there is somewhat of a resemblance. That swivel hips really needs
work though.
Charles and Casey promo from the Fairgrounds. Casey said he came from wrestling royalty. Charles said to reveal his lineage now
would be rude.
A new Doug Gilbert promo aired. Gilbert said they would see who the turkey was going to be on Thanksgiving night at the Fairgrounds.
Gilbert brought up the Memphis Mafia again and teased that his father or Sid Vicious could be there.
3 – NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion JEFF DANIELS (with Dominique) vs. RICKY SYKS
Lonewolf was himself on commentary doing the heel commentator bit. James said he had learned what not to say or do as an
announcer from him. Dominique distracted to set up the heat. Daniels used karate thrusts to the windpipe. Syks got a visual fall with a
sunset flip while Dominique kept debuting ref Josh Randall occupied. A lariat and big series of punches had Daniels on rubber legs, but
he side stepped Syks’ mad charge into the corner, hit a Russian leg sweep and slapped on the Dominator. Syks tapped quickly.
Winner: Daniels via submission in 5:15 with the Dominator. This was OK. I hated to see Syks pinned in this spot, when it could have
been anybody. Syks is one of the more talented guys they have, if they just figure out a good way to use him.
4 – CHRIS CAIN vs. AIDEN SCOTT
Daniels out on commentary. Scott on fire. Repeated bailing by an infuriated Cain. Scott chased and got cut off like a dummy. Daniels
pushed the Tennessee Homecoming show hard, saying the heels would win ever match. He put himself over as the longest reigning
NWA TV Champion. Said he broke Tully Blanchard’s record. No water the pool for Cain’s senton back splash. Scott blew the nip
up to start the comeback. Too bad. The comeback was fine. Cain begged off. Scott
Hit did two flying crossbodys. Why he would go for three, who knows. In any case, Cain rolled through to pin Scott using the ropes.
Winners: Cain in 6:10. I actually kind of liked this with the story being that Scott was done in by his inexperience. They both worked very
hard.
Scott promo. He taking home the X Division title at Tennessee Homecoming. The only way Cain could stop him was to kill him first.
Cain promo. He had worked his way to the top and he was coming down on Scott.
5 – “Playboy� SCOTT HAYES vs.�Magnum� SHANE SMALLS
Daniels on commentary again and doing a lot of talking. They teased the graphic footage of Daniels/Hayes from the Fairgrounds again.
Hayes doing his babyface thing, and doing it well in the early going. Smalls used gutter tactics to take over. James got so pissed at
Daniels that he briefly left the announcer’s table. Fancy spinning neckbreaker by Hayes for the double down. Hayes hit a springboard
back elbow and the tornado DDT. Daniels hit the ring but Hayes was ready for him. Daniels begged off but Smalls got him from behind.
Double teaming ensued. Steve-O made the save. The faces took over and whipped Daniels and Smalls into each other.
Winner: Hayes in 7:30 via DQ. The most energetic, athletic performance I’ve seen from Hayes. It was important for the babyface side
to prevail at the end.
6 – SHAWN SHULTZ vs. Mid-America Television Champion STEVE- 0
NWA Main Event promoter Mike Porter on color. He ribbed James about the replacement commentators auditioning for his job. I donâ
€™t even want to think about watching this show without James. Shultz did the usual whining and complaining, then kicked the ever
loving crap out of O on the break. O made the comeback. Superkick! Small tried to interfere. O brought him in the hardway and got
clubbed from behind by Shultz. Ferrari called for the DQ. Hayes hit the ring and cleaned house. Daniels attacked Hayes. He came right
back. Shultz tried to clock Hayes and hit Daniels by accident. Hayes was still on fire as they segment closed.
Winner: Steve-O via DQ in 6:18. Any time Main Event can puts O in the ring against a quality worker like Shultz, it’s a plus. Hayes was
on the verge of becoming a superman by the time it was over.
Smalls promo. Said he was 10x better and smarter than Steve-O. I loved it. He vowed to leave the NWA if he didn’t beat O at
Tennessee Homecoming.
Steve-O admitted Smalls outsmarted him tonight, but he was going to write Smalls a one way ticket out of Nashville on Thanksgiving.
Hayes promo from the Fairgrounds with his head bandaged. Hayes said he was going to call upon a past he wasn’t proud of at
Tennessee Homcoming. This was no longer about the title, it was about revenge.
Daniels promo (with Dominique) saying he had Hayes busted open and beaten. George Gulas and Deputy Commissioner Gordon
interrupted. Gordon said George had granted him the power to order another no DQ match at Tennessee Homecoming. I’m giving
him the benefit of the doubt because he sure didn’t say it that clearly.
The show closed with the finish of the Daniels/Hayes no DQ match at the Fairgrounds. Daniels kicked out an O’Connor Roll sending
Hayes to the ropes where Dominque wacked him in the head with a chair. Daniels scored the pin.
Closing Thoughts: This was the go home show for Tennessee Homecoming, and they did push it hard. Homecoming ended up drawing
250. Not a bad number all things considered. The tradition of Thanksgiving Day wrestling in Nashville is a bittersweet relic of a bygone
era in southern wrestling, but I guess it’s still worth a little something at the boxoffice. Whatever success they had, it was certainly
despite the television shows taped in LaVergne rather than because of them…Crowd was still only 30 this week. It makes the product
comes across beyond dead on TV. On the plus side, at least they took down all those empty rows of chairs. On the negative side, theyâ
€™re still using that horrible vinyl looking mat cover…This show focused on more on the midcard stories, the battles surrounding the
three singles titles. In particular, this show had a rather impressive 11th hour push for Hayes as a serious heavyweight title challengerâ
€¦Whatever was up with Clemmons, this show needed him bad. I thought Daniels did a hell of job on color. The other guys were brutalâ
€¦Letting Gordon near a mic is asking for trouble…This show actually had too much wrestling content – 32 minutes – given the
quality of wrestling their actually able to deliver. For comparison, the typical TNA show has about 22 minutes of wrestling spread over 2
hours. Not that it’s any goal to aspire to, but Main Event does need more character development. The problem is there’s dearth
of characters worth developing.
– Larry Goodman
This week’s show opened with a rundown of the card for Tennessee Homecoming 2008 pushing it as an historic wrestling event.
The main events: a two ring battle royal with the winner to receive the Nick Gulas Memorial Cup and $1000, and Brian Christopher vs.
Doug Gilbert in a grudge match.
Then to a repeat airing of the Brian Christopher promo from last week.
Tyler Clemmons was MIA, so Jason James was joined by a succession of color commentators, starting with Harry Ballsack aka former
NWA Main Event announcer Lonewolf
1 – “The Internet’s Favorite Wrestler� WHITE TIGER vs. “Internet’s Favorite Wrestler #2� LARRY COOTER
Ballsack announced the opening of the Main Event you tube site. Tiger did a springboard backflip to reverse an armbar that looked
shockingly good compared to the rest of his offense. When Tiger went for a pescado, Cooter made the catch and rammed his back into
the ringpost. James claimed Cooter was the legit grandson of the owner of Cooter’s Garage in the television version of Dukes of
Hazzard.
Winner: Cooter in 6:25 with a pumphandle power slam. It’s a monumental task for a good wrestler to carry one of these guys to a
decent. Putting them together was asking for trouble. Ballsack’s tongue-in-cheek commentary only made matters worse. It didn’t
make me laugh, but it did make feel stupid for watching this junk.
Cooter promo for a match against “Mean� Mike Woods at the Homecoming show that never happened. Cooter said it would be a
case of the student teaching the teacher a lesson.
2 – DYRON FLYNN vs. BRYAN CASEY
Cameraman Cal Varnson on color for this match. Casey dominated. They made a deal out of Casey being the descendant of a famous
wrestler, obviously Rick Rude. Casey did the swivel hips. At one point, Varnson compared Flynn’s footwork to Michael Flatley from
Riverdance. James topped him.
�Irish people know how to do one of two things, drink or fight, and the kid’s too young to drink, so he better learn how to fight.�
In discussing the Christopher/Gilbert match, Varnson said “Big Sexy� was one of his favorites. Casey went up top and got
slammed ala Flair to same up a lame comeback by Flynn, who ended up spearing the post. Casey used the Rude Awakening for his
finisher.
Winner: Casey in 5:40 with the Rude Awakening. Casey’s wrestling looked solid. It’s already well established that Flynn sucks
monkey balls. Casey has a much slighter build than Rude, but the there is somewhat of a resemblance. That swivel hips really needs
work though.
Charles and Casey promo from the Fairgrounds. Casey said he came from wrestling royalty. Charles said to reveal his lineage now
would be rude.
A new Doug Gilbert promo aired. Gilbert said they would see who the turkey was going to be on Thanksgiving night at the Fairgrounds.
Gilbert brought up the Memphis Mafia again and teased that his father or Sid Vicious could be there.
3 – NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion JEFF DANIELS (with Dominique) vs. RICKY SYKS
Lonewolf was himself on commentary doing the heel commentator bit. James said he had learned what not to say or do as an
announcer from him. Dominique distracted to set up the heat. Daniels used karate thrusts to the windpipe. Syks got a visual fall with a
sunset flip while Dominique kept debuting ref Josh Randall occupied. A lariat and big series of punches had Daniels on rubber legs, but
he side stepped Syks’ mad charge into the corner, hit a Russian leg sweep and slapped on the Dominator. Syks tapped quickly.
Winner: Daniels via submission in 5:15 with the Dominator. This was OK. I hated to see Syks pinned in this spot, when it could have
been anybody. Syks is one of the more talented guys they have, if they just figure out a good way to use him.
4 – CHRIS CAIN vs. AIDEN SCOTT
Daniels out on commentary. Scott on fire. Repeated bailing by an infuriated Cain. Scott chased and got cut off like a dummy. Daniels
pushed the Tennessee Homecoming show hard, saying the heels would win ever match. He put himself over as the longest reigning
NWA TV Champion. Said he broke Tully Blanchard’s record. No water the pool for Cain’s senton back splash. Scott blew the nip
up to start the comeback. Too bad. The comeback was fine. Cain begged off. Scott
Hit did two flying crossbodys. Why he would go for three, who knows. In any case, Cain rolled through to pin Scott using the ropes.
Winners: Cain in 6:10. I actually kind of liked this with the story being that Scott was done in by his inexperience. They both worked very
hard.
Scott promo. He taking home the X Division title at Tennessee Homecoming. The only way Cain could stop him was to kill him first.
Cain promo. He had worked his way to the top and he was coming down on Scott.
5 – “Playboy� SCOTT HAYES vs.�Magnum� SHANE SMALLS
Daniels on commentary again and doing a lot of talking. They teased the graphic footage of Daniels/Hayes from the Fairgrounds again.
Hayes doing his babyface thing, and doing it well in the early going. Smalls used gutter tactics to take over. James got so pissed at
Daniels that he briefly left the announcer’s table. Fancy spinning neckbreaker by Hayes for the double down. Hayes hit a springboard
back elbow and the tornado DDT. Daniels hit the ring but Hayes was ready for him. Daniels begged off but Smalls got him from behind.
Double teaming ensued. Steve-O made the save. The faces took over and whipped Daniels and Smalls into each other.
Winner: Hayes in 7:30 via DQ. The most energetic, athletic performance I’ve seen from Hayes. It was important for the babyface side
to prevail at the end.
6 – SHAWN SHULTZ vs. Mid-America Television Champion STEVE- 0
NWA Main Event promoter Mike Porter on color. He ribbed James about the replacement commentators auditioning for his job. I donâ
€™t even want to think about watching this show without James. Shultz did the usual whining and complaining, then kicked the ever
loving crap out of O on the break. O made the comeback. Superkick! Small tried to interfere. O brought him in the hardway and got
clubbed from behind by Shultz. Ferrari called for the DQ. Hayes hit the ring and cleaned house. Daniels attacked Hayes. He came right
back. Shultz tried to clock Hayes and hit Daniels by accident. Hayes was still on fire as they segment closed.
Winner: Steve-O via DQ in 6:18. Any time Main Event can puts O in the ring against a quality worker like Shultz, it’s a plus. Hayes was
on the verge of becoming a superman by the time it was over.
Smalls promo. Said he was 10x better and smarter than Steve-O. I loved it. He vowed to leave the NWA if he didn’t beat O at
Tennessee Homecoming.
Steve-O admitted Smalls outsmarted him tonight, but he was going to write Smalls a one way ticket out of Nashville on Thanksgiving.
Hayes promo from the Fairgrounds with his head bandaged. Hayes said he was going to call upon a past he wasn’t proud of at
Tennessee Homcoming. This was no longer about the title, it was about revenge.
Daniels promo (with Dominique) saying he had Hayes busted open and beaten. George Gulas and Deputy Commissioner Gordon
interrupted. Gordon said George had granted him the power to order another no DQ match at Tennessee Homecoming. I’m giving
him the benefit of the doubt because he sure didn’t say it that clearly.
The show closed with the finish of the Daniels/Hayes no DQ match at the Fairgrounds. Daniels kicked out an O’Connor Roll sending
Hayes to the ropes where Dominque wacked him in the head with a chair. Daniels scored the pin.
Closing Thoughts: This was the go home show for Tennessee Homecoming, and they did push it hard. Homecoming ended up drawing
250. Not a bad number all things considered. The tradition of Thanksgiving Day wrestling in Nashville is a bittersweet relic of a bygone
era in southern wrestling, but I guess it’s still worth a little something at the boxoffice. Whatever success they had, it was certainly
despite the television shows taped in LaVergne rather than because of them…Crowd was still only 30 this week. It makes the product
comes across beyond dead on TV. On the plus side, at least they took down all those empty rows of chairs. On the negative side, theyâ
€™re still using that horrible vinyl looking mat cover…This show focused on more on the midcard stories, the battles surrounding the
three singles titles. In particular, this show had a rather impressive 11th hour push for Hayes as a serious heavyweight title challengerâ
€¦Whatever was up with Clemmons, this show needed him bad. I thought Daniels did a hell of job on color. The other guys were brutalâ
€¦Letting Gordon near a mic is asking for trouble…This show actually had too much wrestling content – 32 minutes – given the
quality of wrestling their actually able to deliver. For comparison, the typical TNA show has about 22 minutes of wrestling spread over 2
hours. Not that it’s any goal to aspire to, but Main Event does need more character development. The problem is there’s dearth
of characters worth developing.
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