8/9 NWA Main Event TV Review

Courtesy of Larry Goodman:

NWA Main Event
Taped August 5, 2008 at the Nashville Fairgrounds Sports Arena
Aired August 9, 2008 in Nashville on ION affiliate WNPX 28

NWA Main Event dedicated this episode to the memory of area wrestler Christopher “Vandy” Fultz, who died on August 3 at the age of 33.

Little Booger was trying to play ball with Snake Jones, who was chained to the back of a truck by his mask. Snake wasn’t cooperating, so Booger left in a snit to go tell Snake’s mama.

Welcome to the wacky world of NWA Main Event.

1 -- NWA Mid-America Television Champion “Magnum” SHANE SMALLS vs. RYAN STONE in a non-title match.

Joined in progress with Smalls working the arm and Stone selling the pain, blues and agony of it all. Tyler Clemens going solo on commentary this week. He said Jason James was out of town and Scott Barry had (suddenly) retired. Clemens said Booger and Snake had a past. Already that’s too much information. Stone hit a DDT for the double down. He flattened Smalls with a spinebuster and went up top, but nobody home for his moonsault. Smalls hit his spinning neckbreaker/inverted Last Rites thingy for the pin.

WINNER: Smalls in 4 minutes of TV time. A perfectly respectable opener.

Charming Charles scolded Snake and Booger. Snake’s mother showed up –a tatted up Amazon straight out of a carnival sideshow. She asked Charles if he was mistreating her boy. Charles slinked away to get some water. Mom reprimanded Snake for being mean to Booger and whipped him with her belt. Booger was getting off on watching Snake get a whipping.

2 -- KID NICKELS vs. SCOTT HAYES

JIP. Nickels was in completed control with high impact stuff. Nickels got flustrated by his inability to put Hayes away. Hayes pinned Nickels with a DDT out of nowhere.

WINNER: Hayes in 4:47 of TV time. A decent match until the finish, which looked ridiculous. Nickels’ head never got within a foot of the mat taking the DDT.

3 – NWA Mid-America X Division Title Match: ERIC WAYNE (c) vs. GREG KING JR.

Wayne hid a set of knucks from ref Jerry Ryman tried to clock King when he turned to call for the bell. They went back and forth with small packages. King got a debatable three count and immediately put Ryman’s lights out. Wayne caught King right on the button with the knucks. The idea was that Ryman was so out of it, he didn’t know whose hand he was raising.

WINNER: Wayne in 20 seconds. What a nonsensical mess this was. I think Tommy Stewart was correct on Jerkin the Curtain. There had to be a botched ref bump or something to explain King’s actions.

Commissioner George Gulas returned, dorky gym shorts and all, and vacated the X Division title.

4 – NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion ALI STEVENS vs. SNAKE JONES (with Charming Charles & Little Booger)

Stevens’ hip went out again. Snake put referee Mark Owen out with the Cobra Clutch. Stevens hobbled over and blasted Snake with his chain. Snake sat up. Steven speared Snake into a propped up table, but it didn’t break. Clemens said Snake was guarded by Voodoo magic. Stevens tossed Snake through the table. Snake sat up. Stevens hit a big elbow drop but no ref to count. Snake sat up. Booger slid another table into the ring. Snake set it up, but Stevens used a chain shot to lay him out on the table. Owen came to long enough to call for the bell. Stevens gave Snake a top rope splash through the table. Snake got up and started choking the life out of Stevens. Snake laid out the three security guys and started attacking them with pieces of the table. Booger got in the ring to try to get Snake under control. Commissioners Gordon and Gulas came to the ring to yell at Snake. It looked like Snake was going to hit Booger with the remnants of a table. Charles brought Mrs. Jones to ringside. Snake obediently got out of the ring. Mrs. Jones hooked the leash to Snake’s mask and hustled him to the back.

WINNER: DQ on Snake? No contest? You’re guess is as good as mine. Another train wreck. Horrible wrestling. Insane carnage. Just like last week, a security guy took the best bump on the show. These two would meet in a Texas Death Match at the next Fairgrounds show. That part made complete sense based on their last two television encounters.

Wayne promo. He said he already proven he could beat King, and Gulas stripped him for allegedly taking the low road. Wayne said Gulas was now putting them in a 2 out 3 falls rematch, and King would rue the day he ever complained to the promotion. “Tuesday night at the Mecca, you’re going to meet your maker, and his name is Eric Wayne.“

5 – “Boogie Woogie Boy” GARY VALIANT (with Miss Boogie) vs. TIM RENESTO in a No DQ Match. All over the building with all kinds of weapons. For starters, Renesto gave Valiant a back bodydrop onto the ring trailer. Renesto choked Valiant with a strap they used to tie down the ring parts. He bashed Valiant into a fence. Valiant bashed Renesto with a soft drink rack to break the choke. Valiant did a running double ax using a chair as a springboard. Renesto whipped Boogie into a set of folded up bleachers. Boogie took a flat back bump on the concrete. They battled past a table where SAW International Champion Kid Kash was seated. Clemens made sure to mention it. Renesto whomped Boogie in the nuts and back with a 2 X 4. Boogie whipped Renesto into a garage door and superkicked him. Boogie grabbed the mic out of Gordon’s hand and konked Renesto with it. Boogie rammed Renesto with a two wheel dolly. A large masked man got Boogie’s attention. Renesto came from behind with one of the posts that held up the curtain for the dressing room. The masked man locked the dressing room door and handcuffed Boogie to a fenced in area under the bleachers. Jeff Daniels grabbed Miss Boogie. Renesto used a piece of jagged metal object on Boogie’s head. The footage switched to black and white as Boogie started to bleed. Renesto and the masked man continued to pound on an unconscious Boogie. Clemens said fines and suspension weren’t enough, this should get them prison time. Daniels let Miss Boogie go and taunted Valiant from the other side of the fence. Promoter Mike Porter finally made them stop. The camera got a close up of Boogie’s motionless body chained the fence. Daniels extended his bloody palm to within inches of the camera lens. “The blood is on my hands.”

WINNER: Ruled a no contest at 14:21, but that’s strictly a guess. Wild action. There were some great punches mixed in with the plethora of weapons shots. The closing minutes with the fans crowding around and Miss Boogie screaming, had an edgy, out-of-control feel. Valiant sold the beatdown like he was dying.

Backstage promo by Smalls. He said it was party time for Renesto because he was out spending the bounty money, but it would be no party for whoever went gunning for his TV title, because they would have a Magnum in their face.

6 – Indian Leather Strap Match: JEFF DANIELS vs. STEVE-O

JIP as Daniels delivered a crushing low blow. Both men still sporting bandages from the bloodshed last week. Daniels put the strap to good use. He then wrapped it around Steve’s neck and attempted to touch all four corners. Steve-O crotched Daniels with the rope as he headed to corner number four. It was Steve-O’s turn to do damage. He gave tried to end it after a lariat, but Daniels shortened his leash to prevent the fourth touch. Steve-O pounded away. Daniels took this great bouncing bump off the ropes. Steve-O connected on a superkick. He hogtied Daniels and was about to make the fourth corner when Renesto ran down. Steve-O cut him off at the pass. The masked man came out. Steve-O gawked at him. Daniels capitalized with a Russian legsweep into the Dominator submission. The bell rang, although ref Jerry Ryman didn’t call for it. Clemens said a strap match couldn’t end like that. Daniels refused to break the hold. The segment ended with the refs and security trying to pull Daniels off.

WINNER: I’m guessing a DQ on Daniels. Clemens never said. A brutal means to a brutal end. Daniels is disgusting filth as a heel. I love it. Steve-O was better than usual. A DQ in a strap match would usually suck but it got them where they wanted to go –see promos below.

Steve-O looked like death with a huge wrap on his shoulder to go with the king-sized bandage on his head. Steve said the deck was stacked against him once again, so he asked Gulas for a cage match. This Tuesday night at the Fairgrounds, Daniels would have no way out and nobody would be able to get in to help him.

Daniels said he just gave the people a taste of why they call him the Crippler. When it was over, he had the Dominator locked in and ripped Steve’s shoulder out of the socket. “I heard it pop.”

And you had the gall, you had the audacity, to go to George Gulas and tell him you want me in a steel cage match? Are you crazy? I live for cage matches! I live for chain matches! I live for falls count anywhere! Steve-O, they’re going to lock us in a steel cage, and that just means one thing – nobody’s getting’ in. You damn right, nobody’s getting in. And I’m going to finish you, pal. I’m going to take you, and I’m going to break you, and I’m going to send you to a convalescent home. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times. You know what? I don’t have to say it. Everybody knows why I’m The Crippler. Steve-O. Tuesday night at the Fairgrounds. Steel cage. (laughs his sinister laugh) It’s over. OVER!

The show closed with slow motion highlights of the Valiant-Renesto brawl. They advertised Renesto vs. Miss Boogie’s hand-picked opponent for the next Fairgrounds show.

Closing Thoughts: Another episode chock full of craziness and mayhem. It’s far from all good, and some of it is horribly, comically bad. Predictable? Run of the mill? Never. All three of the top feuds involved hardcore violence and nobody getting pinned. The inconclusive finishes made sense in the context of the stories they’re telling, but they’re treading on thin ice training fans that finishes don’t matter. Sooner or later, the fans will stop caring period. All three of the top feuds involve hardcore violence. Daniels is an awesome heel. He cut another great show closing promo. It would have been money back in the day. Clemens didn’t do badly on a solo commentary. It really helped that cameraman Cal stayed mobile and at close range during the main events. With only one camera, they should make a habit of shooting that way. It was disappointing that they did nothing with last week’s story of Charles‘ protesting to the NWA about Stevens winning with title. Clemens only mentioned it in passing. All in all, an amazing show. Even when it was lousy, it held my attention. I don’t see how they can keep up this pace.