KEY TO THE CITY 2012 [AUGUST 25]

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RIOT CITY WRESTLING presents KEY TO THE CITY 2012!

New larger venue tonight!

Your commentators are Josh Armour and Todd Eastman (“He came out of the east to do battle with the Amazing Rando!”). No Kurt Powers. We have Mike and Tony without Bobby, so I guess we’re waiting for a Mark Madden to step in. Stacked card, with six matches plus the rumble (which is always a long match in itself). Could be in for a long night.

Huge crowd, to almost fill the new larger hall; in excess of 350. The hall, while larger, does not have the same feel as the other hall. This new hall feels a little less like a wrestling venue and more like a venue where they happen to be doing wrestling, but the big crowd helped overcome some of that, as well as the bar and merchandise stands being in better view of the ring. Still, with a few minor cosmetic improvements, that could well be alleviated.

Josh runs down the card, with the main event not being the rumble, but a 4-corners elimination match for the RCW title. Plus, the women’s title will be defended.

Match 1: Big Brodie Marshall v Del Taurino (with El Presidente)
Taurino doesn’t taunt the crowd as usual when he comes in. Bizarre. Taurino plays stalling games to start. Marshall gets sick of it and throws him around a bit. Back body drop gets a two-count for Marshall. Taurino back but Marshall throws him out of the ring. Outside Marshall goes after Taurino and boots down El Presidente. Back in and Taurino takes control. Marshall again, but Taurino goes for the legs and gets a two. Weak clothesline from Marshall leads to a Marshall Law (torture rack slam) from Marshall for the three-count. They’re really pushing this young guy.
Winner: Big Brodie Marshall (pin)

Voodoo and Eliza Sway come out (matching colours and similar outfit styles – excellent!), and Voodoo calls out Mimic. The music plays, but no Mimic. Voodoo laughs and the two of them then show a video of Voodoo destroying Mimic after the last show, outside the venue. Well done and great use of the video. Voodoo riles up the crowd a bit and then Miami’s music hits. Voodoo laughs and leaves; Voodoo’s laughing heel is something different, and a nice contrast to his vicious bitch girlfriend. Anyway, so we have this match.

Match 2: #1 contender’s match: Eliza Sway v Miami
Hard-hitting fast start, back and forth, too quick to recount. Wow. A series of quick two-counts until Sway goes for the eyes. Voodoo back out, hits Miami in the back to turn the tide. Sway with a nasty cross-arm choke and some stiff kicks. Miami judo throws her to get out of it. Miami with a spinebuster. Sway with a kick, knee to the face, back-handed slap, face plant. She then distracts the ref so Voodoo gets in some blows. Samoan drop set up by Miami is countered by some brutal elbows to the face. Miami thrown to the ropes, then dumps Sway outside. Outside Sway in control. Stiff match! Still outside and they are beating the hell out of one another. Ref calls for the bell – double count-out. Ref holds Miami back and Voodoo holds back Sway. What a great women’s brawl!
Winner: DCOR

Match 3: Adam Brooks (with Rohan Herbstreit and Matt Silva) v Damo
This whole MCW/RCW feud – which seems to be just “there” and nothing really – has done one thing: it’s made Brooks into Silva’s little bitch again. And against Damo, these three coming out seems like overkill and does nothing for the “feud”. (Like if the NWO had sent out Kevin Nash with Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall at ringside to fight Chavo Guerrero). Crowd is right behind Damo. Of course. Shoving to start, Brooks get the best of it. Brooks in control with some basic stuff into a leg lariat. Damo with a roll-up for two, some fore-arms. Damo tries to run around the ring but Silva kills him with a clothesline outside, then Rohan gets some licks in. How to kill a crowd 101. Damo is pinned, kicks out at 2. Tries to fight back. Brooks with a snap suplex for 2. Back drop suplex for 2. Damo back, sunset flip, Brooks rolls through and kills him for 2. Slam by Brooks, leg drop for 2. We are now into protracted squash territory. Crowd is not paying attention really. Damo comes back briefly to half-hearted cheers. Fired into the corner and crowd is losing its concentration. A half-hearted “Damo” chant gets them riled a bit until another whip into a corner. For 2. Damo finally comes back and crowd is slowly coming alive. Damo is working his arse off here to get the crowd to get back into the match. Damo with a backslide for 2, rollup for 2, crucifix for 2. Now the crowd is with him – Damo has become great at working them, so long as his opponents help. Damo goes for a corner charge, misses and messes himself up. Brooks up top, Damo also jumps up, but is pushed off, however he manages to crotch Brooks on the top rope. Damo goes up. Cross body explodes the crowd. For 2! Silva interferes, Brooks hits a roll the dice for the 3. So it took a wrestler who fought for the Key to the City in 2011, the MCW champion and a manager to beat 5’4, 150lb Damo? The booking was just crazy, and the match was probably 5 minutes too long.
Winner: Adam Brooks (pin)

Silva and Rohan on the mic and they abuse Damo and South Australia. “RC-Dub” chant drowns them out. (Bigger crowds = awesome responses.) The ref is dumped and they still attack Damo. Hang on – the music of the Rude Ones plays! They come in the ring and abuse the Victorians and defend Damo and the crowd. The Victorians return fire, so the Rude Ones kick them out of the ring. Holy crap – a face turn NO-ONE saw coming!

Match 4: Key To The City Rumble
Normal rumble rules apply until the final two are left, who then go through to a best of three series to win the key to the city (think money in the bank briefcase but smaller and shaped like a key and unable to be opened) over the next few shows.
Number 1: Adam Brooks
Number 2: Del Taurino
Convenient. Brooks barely sells it, especially after what just went down. He just gets out of the ring and mopes around a bit. Crowd is behind Taurino, though. They clearly bought the turn straight away. Taurino dropkick gets a nice cheer. Brooks from the top with one of his own. A large, effective count-down clock on the big screen, including verbals on the 10-down (60 seconds between entrants, by the way) is well done.
Number 3: Ty Evans
Ty and Taurino work Brooks over together.
Number 4: Fuzion
Fuzion goes after everyone, especially Ty.
Number 5: Curt Chaos
His tag team partner is now apparently Fuzion and they work together.
Number 6: Jett Armstrong
He’s back! And he takes everyone out with some high flying, high impact stuff.
Number 7: Brad Smyth
He goes after Jett, but gets hit with sliced bread and is almost eliminated right off the bat.
Number 8: Nick Armstrong
Back from Canada (seriously – I hope to interview him about his time in Lance Storm’s Academy at some point) and he saves his brother. Double suplex to Fuzion. Jett eliminates Chaos, Nick eliminates Fuzion. Chaos and Fuzion are not happy, and they jump back in and they eliminate the Armstrongs! Tag team feud just like that.
Number 9: Damo
Brooks kills him dead, then tries to eliminate him but Damo has a death grip on the top rope.
Number 10: Wheeler
He goes straight after Smyth while the others gang up on Brooks.
Number 11: Shannon Jarvis
Back from his knee injury. DDTs Brooks. Ring is filling up again.
Number 12: Matt Silva
He kills Taurino and then every other South Australian with clotheslines. Wheeler out, Ty out, Jarvis out. He then throws Damo out, but Damo lands on the guys outside and walks across their backs (and Ty’s head) to get back in! Crowd pops like crazy! Back in and Silva just tosses him again. Crowd deflates.
Number 13: Matt “GD Grimm” Basso
Adam Brooks out. Four left in the ring!
Number 14: Rohan Herbstreit
He takes his time going to the ring. Weak forearms to the South Australians, who then surround him. He plays the scared rabbit, but shouldn’t he be cowering a bit more?
Number 15: El Presidente
Pres takes off his jacket , throws it at Rohan and then eliminates him to a massive pop. He celebrates and Silva eliminates him!
Number 16: Miami
What? She comes down as Silva goes after Grimm’s leg. Sway comes out and stops Miami getting to the ring. Miami kills her a bit, and then gets on the ring apron. Sway pulls her down.
Number 17: Eliza Sway
Hang on! Sway and Miami are now fighting through the crowd! In the ring the battle continues. This is great! The women continue to just slaughter one another on the outside. Just superb.
Number 18: Big Brodie Marshall
Miami and Sway are declared out of the rumble. Oookay. Why? It was never actually addressed. Meanwhile Marshall and Silva have a mess up on something, and then Marshall eliminates Smyth.
Number 19: Voodoo
He uses the key he has to knock the others out, and then he stands tall, alone, in the middle of the ring, and then he eliminates himself! He already has a key, why go after another one? That makes a point without belabouring it.
Number 20: Hammer
That’s a big guy to be coming in this late. Hammer goes after Grimm. He belly-to-belly suplexes Grimm! He pounds on Taurino. He demolishes Silva. Marshall goes after him. A Hammer low blow stops Marshall, running punch floors him. World’s strongest slam knocks him out and Marshall is then thrown over the top. Hammer then gives it to Marshall’s supporters. That’s better character from Hammer.
Final four – Grimm, Silva, Hammer, Taurino.
Collision in the centre of the ring. Silva back drops Del Taurino out of the ring. That looked nasty. Grimm hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Silva. Some back and forth between the remaining three, and then Grimm eliminates Silva. So our best of three series will be between Grimm and Hammer. Wow. And a good result.
     Words are exchanged in the ring, some pushing and shoving, Brad Smyth comes out to calm Hammer down and take him to the back. That’s probably the best Rumble RCW have put on (and I reckon I’ve seen most of them). Fast, barely a dull moment, and the right two finishing in the end, continuing a simmering feud. Hammer is definitely Rookie of the Year.

And there’s still three matches to go!

Match 5: Fuzion & Curt Choas v Wheeler & Ty Evans
Wheeler & Evans are RCW rookies, and they get a great response from the crowd. Wheeler and Fuzion start. Fuzion tosses Wheeler, the partners get involved and Wheeler takes over on Fuzion. Tag to Ty leads to a double suplex on Fuzion. Fuzion kicks out of a pin with authority and tags in Chaos. He demolishes Ty and Fuzion in with a running boot in the corner. Ty in the heel corner. Tags in and out as they pound on Ty. Fuzion chokes Ty and works the full 5 count a few times. They have cut the ring in half really well. Chaos drops both rookies with a nice series. Fuzion with a front facelock, then body slam. Ty is playing Ricky Morton. Teardrop suplex from Chaos for 2. Ty back with a kick and DDT. Goes for the tag, Chaos pulls him back, again, again, hot tag! Wheeler with a loose clothesline and then a series of moves. Ty back in (really?). Ty kicks to the back, Wheeler to the front, Fuzion makes the save. Low blow from Chaos stops him. Fuzion runs across and kicks Wheeler off the apron, Chaos hits a move sending Ty into Fuzion’s spinebuster for the Chaos pin. A squash match to put over the new tag team. The rookies didn’t embarrass themselves either, which is important. Glad to see Fuzion – who is underrated it seems to me – being put into a more high profile role, and Chaos is playing his wily veteran role to perfection. This is going to be a fun team to watch. But after what went down in the Rumble, shouldn’t the Armstrongs have made themselves a bit more conspicuous? At least be around at ringside to run distraction or even just makes themselves known?
Winners: Fuzion & Curt Chaos (Chaos pins Evans)

Match 6: RCW Women’s Title: Harley Wonderland v Savannah Summers (c)
Bravo RCW for putting the women’s title match on as semi-main. At least one wrestling company treats its females like wrestlers. Chain wrestling to start. Savannah gets a sweet hurricanrana, but misses a top rope splash, and Harley hits a stiff clothesline. Harley takes over until a blind run into the corner, but Savannah is hit by another huge clothesline for two. Savannah reverses a suplex attempt into a DDT. Savannah on the attack. Harley comes back with a nice German suplex for 2. Harley sets Savvanah up on the top rope. Savannah knocks her down, hits and only gets 2. Savannah hits a sudden pure arrogance (code-breaker to the face) and gets the win. Two really strong women’s matches tonight, and the crowd was right into this one. (Sorry if the play-by-play was a bit brief; I was actually right into this match as well.)
Winner: (and still RCW Women’s Champion) Savannah Summers

Match 7: RCW Title Match, 4-way Elimination: Brad Smyth v Matt “GD Grimm” Basso v Matt Silva v Marvel (c)
Love the way the crowd join in with Grimm’s taunt nowadays. And Marvel’s face pop was quite loud as well; that turn was done remarkably well, but when you have heels like the Victorians it does make it easier. The Rumble result sort of says that one of these guys definitely isn’t going to win this, which is maybe why the Rumble should have been last so that the three who don’t win then get put into it. Grimm and Brad to the outside quickly. Grimm pulls Silva out and they pound on each other. Marvel and Silva back in the ring and the go at it, Marvel’s strikes definitely superior. Three men out, Marvel on top, cross body onto all three. Now Silva’s the only one in and he hits a low somersault plancha (looked quite dodgy, actually). Now Brad the only one in, and he teases a dive. Grimm in with him and he backdrops Brad onto Marvel and Silva. Grimm goes to dive onto everyone, but Hammer in and he hits a Black Hole Slam (the Devastator) on Grimm. Brad Smyth slides in, and he gets the pin for a surprise first elimination.
     Elimination 1: Grimm (pinned by Smyth)
Now it’s a three-way. Brad kicks the crap out of the other two. Silva back, dumping Marvel and going after Smyth. Silva and Smyth double team Marvel. They are working together; what a great way to get more face value on Marvel. Marvel starts to fight back, but the weight of numbers gets to him again. Smyth goes to pin Marvel but Silva rolls him up for two. They now go at it. Silva decks Smyth with a punch. Silva with a DVD on Marvel, but Smyth superkicks Silva for a 2 count. Smyth and Marvel exchange moves until Marvel locks in a dragon sleeper.
     Elimination 2: Smyth (sub to Marvel)
One-on-one for the title. Silva kicks Marvel for a two count. Silva tries to remove Marvel’s mask. Running knee lift in the corner by Silva. They exchange moves until Silva hits the brainbuster for only 2. Silva cannot believe it. Crowd is behind Marvel loudly. Silva kicks Marvel and goes for another brainbuster, but Marvel reverses it into a dragon sleeper! Holy crap, how did he do that? Silva holds on for a bit, then taps.
     Winner: (and still RCW Champion) Marvel!
I am hoping for a long title reign here – he deserves it. Even as a heel he always outwrestled everyone else. I just hope he doesn’t get a case of face-itis where he suddenly develops a habit of getting his arse kicked before pulling out a win.

The rest of the Rude Ones come out to celebrate with him while the Victorians come out and get nowhere.

Damon Matthews (the Commissioner, in case you forgot) appears on the video screen to announce next month’s matches – Fuzion & Chaos v Armstrongs, Miami v Sway in a falls count anywhere match for the #1 contendership, and team MCW (Silva & Brooks) v the Rude Ones. The crowd likes the sound of that, although judging by the comments of a few in the crowd around me, the MCW guys are starting to get X-Pac heat. It won’t take much to push it either way, back into genuine heel heat or into full-on X-Pac mode. But most importantly – we’ve seen the commissioner again!
      Match of the Night: Sway v Miami
(I had an argument with couple of friends about this – one thought the main event was MOTN, while the third said it was the Rumble. Gives you an idea of the quality we had on this show, but I’m sticking with the women’s match.)

Well, what to say? After the lacklustre PPVs SummerSlam and Hardcore Justice, this was the show I needed to re-enthuse me about wrestling. This was probably the best RCW show of the year, and maybe even of the past 2 or so years. At 2 ½ hours long, it was a great night out that did not overstay its welcome. Simply a great show. It’s a shame they don’t get DVDs out sooner because this is one I’d recommend you get right now.

 

Australian. Father. Perpetual student. Started watching wrestling before Wrestlemania 1. Has delusions of grandeur and was known to regularly get the snot beaten out of him in a wrestling ring. Also writes occasionally in other Pulse sections.Thinks Iron Mike Sharpe is underrated. http://stevengepp.wordpress.com