The SmarK Rant For Wrestling Gold – “Wrestling’s Future Stars”

The SmarK Rant for Wrestling Gold: Wrestling’s Future Stars

– So this is a continuation of sorts of the “Before They Were Stars” series offered by VCI Entertainment, who distribute the Wrestling Gold series. I went with this one because it’s got the OVW stuff on it, but they also sent me “Night of the Legends” (an oft-requested SMW show) and “Blood Brawls & Grudges” (another SMW compilation DVD), so look for all of those in the coming weeks.

– All these DVDs offer both the original commentary, and “insider” commentary on the second audio track with Jim Cornette & Dave Meltzer. One guess which one I prefer.

– BJ Payne v. Flash. This is the semi-finals of the hardcore tournament, which Cornette discontinued due to injuries. Payne attacks and clamps jumper cables to Flash’s genitals to start. Well, that’s one spot you don’t see much of. They fight outside to the concession, and into the women’s bathroom (complete with a woman running out in terror), and back in. The toilet set gets used as a weapon, and Payne goes out to grab a table. Flash reverses Payne into the table with a hiptoss, and stomps away. He hammers away in the corner (bleeding all the while) and slams Payne onto a Stop sign, and gets a legdrop off the second rope. Payne comes back by blocking a sunset flip with a shard of table, and gets an inverted sideslam. Cornette, on commentary with Meltzer, talks about how he advised Flash not to risk his life until the Louisville Garden was sold out. Payne gets a sitout powerbomb and heads up, but misses a frog splash while Cornette goes on a rant about crap like CZW and Flash heads up a ladder for a Buff Blockbuster that gets the pin at 6:11. Good little hardcore match. **1/2

– Nick Dinsmore v. Rico Constantino. Rico works the arm to start and Dinsmore escapes that. Nick comes back with a rolling vertical suplex for two. He takes Rico down with a crossface, but Rico reverses to a cobra clutch, which Dinsmore reverses again to that crossface. Rico bails and they brawl, which Dinsmore wins with chops, and they head back in. Rico hits him with a wicked roundhouse kick and a legdrop for two. Kneedrop gets two. Gourdbuster, but Dinsmore suplexes out of a sleeper attempt and both guys are down. Dinsmore makes the comeback with a forearm and goes up, but the ref is bumped on a missile dropkick. German suplex, no ref, and Mr. Black and Kenny Bolin run in for some shenanigans, and that’s a DQ at 5:15. Never really got going, but you can tell that Rico and Dinsmore were both ready to go places. *1/2

– Brock Lesnar & Shelton Benjamin v. The Disciples of Synn. Dave notes that the WWF is pretty high on Brock Lesnar and you’ll probably hear big things about him in the future. I take it this is before March 2002. Benjamin works on Damian in the corner to start, and the Stretching Crew get an insane double powerbomb. Payne comes in, but gets slammed by Brock, and Benjamin hits them both with an elbow for two. Payne gets his inverted sideslam on Benjamin to take over, and Damian drops an elbow for two. Double-team powerslam gets two. Payne’s t-shirt reads “Drunk Chicks Love Me” and you can’t argue with a shirt like that. Damian gets a spinebuster for two. Payne chokes away in the corner, but Benjamin gets a crossbody on both of them, and flips over them out of the corner to make the hot tag to Lesnar. That’s nuts. Brock suplexes the crap out of the Disciples and gets a fisherman’s suplex for two. Synn comes in and hairsprays Shelton for the DQ at 4:42. Leviathan (Batista) hits the ring and cleans house on EVERYONE. Lesnar & Benjamin were just crazy here. **1/2

– Hardcore match: Randy Orton v. Mr. Black. RNN NEWS UPDATE: He’s at 100% back then. Black quickly jumps him, but misses a pump splash and gets dropkicked out. Back in, a trashcan gets involved, and Orton nails him with a baseball bat for two. Orton uses the Al Snow SEVEN-TEN SPLIT OF DEATH spot, but walks into a big boot. Black goes to work with a belt and chokes him down with a rope. Black sets up a chair in the corner, but inevitably gets whipped into it himself as the bitter hand of irony interjects itself again. Kenny Bolin’s toadies interfere, but it backfires and Orton gets the pin with a full-nelson slam at 3:40. *1/2

– Rico v. Randy Orton. Rico pounds away in the corner to start, but Orton sends him into a few turnbuckles and gets a press-slam out of the corner. Rico catches a cheapshot, but gets hiptossed and Orton dropkicks him twice. Crossbody gets two. Orton works the arm, but Rico turns it into a neckbreaker and stomps away. Backdrop suplex gets two. Rico chokes away and they slug it out, but Rico puts him down with a spinkick. Vertical suplex gets two. A monkey-flip is blocked, however, and Orton makes the comeback and it’s a battle of fisticuffsmanship. Inverted atomic drop and backdrop set up a backbreaker for two. Orton gets a super-cool capture suplex into a Rock Bottom for two. THERE’S his new finisher when he comes back. Another Rock Bottom gets two. Orton deals with Kenny Bolin, but gets caught with the Sudden Impact (kind of a northern lights suplex) from Rico for the pin at 4:56. Good stuff. **1/2

– The Disciples of Synn & Leviathan v. Nick Dinsmore, Damaja & Trailer Park Trash. Damaja overpowers the heels to start and he & Dinsmore do some double-teaming to clean house. Dinsmore gets caught in the corner, but catches Payne with a cross-body and Trash comes in against Leviathan. That quickly goes badly for him, as Leviathan clotheslines him and powerbombs Dinsmore. Damaja helps out and allows the faces to take control again, but Trash gets chokeslammed and is YOUR redneck in peril. The Disciples get a double-team bulldog and Leviathan pounds away in the corner. Payne grabs a bearhug and pounds him down, allowing another double-team, this one a corner splash, but the heels collide as a result. Hot tag Dinsmore, who cleans house with forearms on the Disciples and gets a cross-body on Leviathan for two. To the top, but Flash trips him up and Leviathan DDTs him for the pin at 5:21. Another good match, which is really neat to see considering the limited experience involved here. As Cornette notes on commentary, you could put this on RAW and not have it stand out in the least. **1/4 A huge heel beatdown leads to the Minnesota Stretching Crew making the save.

– Flash v. Rico. Rico is OVW champion here, as Flash cleans house and dumps him to start. Back in, Rico suplexes Flash onto the top rope and gets one of his awesome spinkicks. Another back-and-forth kick sequence puts Flash down, but a senton misses. Flash escapes a backdrop and superkicks him into a springboard legdrop for two. He comes back with a clothesline and lays in the chops, into a springboard dropkick. Nice sequence, these guys are really smooth. Sideslam turns the tide for Rico and he starts with the shenanigans in the corner, and they slug it out. Flash charges and runs into a lariat, but they clothesline each other for the double KO. Rico gets Bolin’s briefcase, but Flash evades him and gets the case. Superkick gets the pin at 3:49. Very very fast-paced and polished match. ** Rico, who is barely more than a green rookie in these matches, looks like a journeyman veteran, and that’s what makes his usage in the WWE so mind-boggling.

– Sean Casey & Chris Michaels v. Leviathan. This is your standard “get a guy over as a monster” match, which Cornette notes as I type it. Leviathan pounds on Casey in the corner while Michaels goes up, and they double-team him into a pinning position and dogpile for two. Leviathan kills Casey with a MAIN EVENT SPINEBUSTER (nice one, too) and powerslams Michaels. Double chokeslam finishes both guys at 1:42. ½*

– Randy Orton v. Rico. Bolin is banned from ringside. Orton gets an insanely high dropkick for two, to start. Orton gets a crossbody for two. Rico comes back with chops, but Orton returns fire and clotheslines him. Rico charges and gets dumped, but hiptosses Orton over the top and to the floor. Nice spot. Orton meets the post a few times, and we head back in. Rico suplexes him in for two. Rico goes to work on the back with kneedrops. Backdrop and elbow get two. He goes to a Boston crab, but Orton makes the ropes. Backdrop suplex gets two. Rico sends him into the corner, back-first, and chokes away. Press-powerslam and Rico goes up with a swanton that misses. WHY IS THIS GUY NOT WRESTLING ON RAW EVERY WEEK? Orton makes the comeback with an inverted atomic drop and clothesline, into a sideslam for two. Backdrop and another clothesline set up a legdrop for two. Rico tries a slam, but Orton bumps the ref and rolls him up. Bolin, dressed in drag in the front row, comes in to nail Orton with a purse and Rico gets the pin at 6:28. Good stuff. ***

– Rob Conway v. The Machine (Doug Basham). Conway takes him down with a legsweep and gets Christian’s neckbreaker for two. Reverse elbow and fistdrop, and he dumps Machine. They brawl outside, but Machine slams him off the top coming in and takes over. Snap suplex gets two. Machine escapes an irish whip, turning it into a pumphandle slam and a pump splash. He pounds away on Conway and dropkicks him out of the Tree of Woe. That gets two. Kneedrop gets two. Sideslam and senton allow Machine to go up, but the diving headbutt misses. Would’ve missed whether Conway moved or not. Conway comes back and slugs him down, and gets a reverse elbow and powerslam. Backdrop out of the corner and Conway goes up with a bodypress, but Machine rolls through for the pin at 4:57. Again, real fast-paced and smooth. **1/2

– Rico & Flash v. Nick Dinsmore & Randy Orton. This was set up by the four top contenders squabbling during an interview the week before, and everyone is reluctantly teaming. Rico works Dinsmore’s arm to start, but Orton comes in and hiptosses him into a dropkick. Love that dropkick. Rico bails, so Flash gives it a try and gets slugged down and double-teamed by the faces. Dinsmore gets two with an elbow, and reverses a hiptoss into a bulldog for two. Flash “tags” Rico with a punch to the mouth and brings him in the hard way. Orton gets a crossbody for two. A cheapshot turns the tide, however, and Rico gets a spinkick and a sideslam. Flash tags himself back in and gets a backbreaker, then draws in Dinsmore for some tomfoolery. Cornette & Meltzer discuss the weird heel-face charisma of Flash as Rico clotheslines Orton and Flash gets a suplex. Springboard legdrop gets two. Flash misses a Buff Blockbuster, and Dinsmore gets the hot tag. Backdrops for everyone! Mulekick for Rico and the german suplex on Flash gets two, as Rico saves. Crossface and Rico is tapping, but the ref is out and Bolin is able to salvage that situation with the briefcase. Flash hits Orton with the blockbuster, but prevents Rico from getting the pin off that. I’m guessing that’s not gonna end good. Rico gets the pin on Dinsmore instead at 6:34 (because Flash has an issue with Dinsmore) and Flash turns on Rico afterwards. Formula stuff that worked fine. **3/4

– Kenny Bolin and Rico do an interview running down Randy Orton and his heritage.

– Nick Dinsmore v. The Machine. This is a match over who is the best technical wrestler. Dinsmore works the arm to start and they trade wristlocks, and take each other down for two. They exchange chops and Dinsmore gets a pretty sunset flip into the Eddy-Dean pinfall sequence for several near-falls. Machine takes him down into a Cloverleaf, but Dinsmore makes the ropes, and everyone takes a breather. Machine grabs a headlock, which Dinsmore turns into the Owen Hart reversal, and they reverse off that until Dinsmore takes him down with a crossface. Machine makes the ropes, so Dinsmore gets a reverse rollup for two and goes back to the arm. Machine escapes with a northern lights suplex and works the arm himself. They trade go-behinds and Machine hiptosses him, which is reversed to a rollup for two by Dinsmore. Machine chops away and charges, hitting a leg lariat for two. Dinsmore comes back with a forearm and chops away himself, into a superkick to take over. Machine “accidentally” bumps the ref and uses brass knuckles for the pin at 4:54. The story there is that Machine got overwhelmed by Dinsmore’s technical wrestling and was forced to resort to cheating when all else failed. Great pure technical stuff here. ***1/2

– The Disciples of Synn v. Rico & Prototype. This is the finals of a tournament for the tag titles. Protoype (John Cena) starts with Damian, but gets slammed and armdragged. Prototype goes to Rico for advice, but gets slammed again, so I guess it didn’t work. The gimmick with Prototype was that he was supposed to the perfect model for anyone who followed the teachings of Rico. Payne hiptosses Prototype all over the place and he goes for the tag again, but Rico is having none of it yet. Funny stuff. The Disciples backdrop Prototype and Damian hammers away, and now Rico tags in, only to get worked over and retreat back to the corner again for Prototype to bail him out. Kenny Bolin trips up Payne, but Synn trips up Prototype. There’s like 4 guys at ringside. Synn and Bolin threaten a fight (which is a pretty funny sight) and everyone calms down and regroups. Rico spinkicks Payne and pounds away, allowing Bolin’s team to get control. Prototype stomps him in the corner and Rico comes back in for more punishment. Payne comes back with a DDT and makes the hot tag to Damian, and it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA. Disciples get a double-team powerbomb for two. Rico gets double-teamed in the corner and Payne powerslams him for two. Gourdbuster gets two. Payne stomps a mudhole in the corner and they keep working Rico over in the corner. Payne hits the chinlock and keeps him grounded, and then drops Damian onto him with a legdrop for two. Finally, Rico reverses a backdrop into a swinging DDT, and makes the hot tag to Prototype. Frog splash gets two on Payne and all hell breaks loose, as Synn and Bolin go off on each other and Prototype hairsprays Payne for two. The ref is bumped, as the SECONDARY managers brawl now, and everyone slugs it out with the playing field level again. Prototype dumps Payne as Damian grabs a sleeper on Rico, but Prototype nails him one last time and Rico falls back for the pin and the titles at 14:45. Best match on the DVD thus far, hands down, with tons of great double-teams and creative cheating galore. ****

– Rico & Prototype v. Damaja & Rob Conway. Rico slugs away on Conway to start, but that ends up badly for him. They reverse each other and slug it out, which Rico loses again. You’d think he’d learn. Prototype comes in, but gets rolled up for two. Damaja escapes a backdrop and slugs him down, but Prototype gets rolled up for two. Super fast pace here. Conway & Damaja get a double-hiptoss for two. Conway goes after Rico as it breaks loose a bit, but Bolin helps out and Conway is YOUR face in peril. Prototype knees him down and Rico stomps him in the corner. Knee to the gut gets two. Prototype with the backdrop suplex for two. They do some old-fashioned heel switcheroos and work Conway over some more. Rico gets a series of knees to the gut, for two. Double-stomp and Prototype goes up but misses a frog splash. Hot tag Damaja, and he flapjacks Prototype and hits Rico with an enzuigiri, and it’s BONZO GONZO. Bolin gets involved, but Synn gets a receipt from the tag title match and hairsprays Rico, allowing Conway to get the (non-title) win at 7:50. ***

– The Disciples of Synn & Leviathan v. Rico, Prototype & Mr. Black. Again, 18 managers at ringside and everyone’s a heel. Rico gets a dropkick on Damian and a slam for two. Prototype grabs a headlock and armdrags Damian all over the place, and then takes Payne down when he comes in. Into the Bolin corner, as Black takes Payne out with a big boot and Rico comes back in for some abuse. Leviathan is tagged in and quickly gets a DDT for two on Rico. Into the Synn corner, where Payne stomps a mudhole and powerslams Rico for two. Damian kicks him down, but Leviathan misses an elbow. He blocks a Rico cross-body, into a sideslam. Hot tag Prototype, who gets a submission move on Damian, but walks into a spinebuster. Payne gets a HUGE Rydien Bomb, but Rico hits the Sudden Impact on him and puts Prototype on top for two. Black comes back in with a backdrop, and Rico keeps Payne in the corner. Prototype whips him around, and Rico gets a sleeper, but the heels collide in a spot right out of the Midnight Express, allowing Leviathan to come in and hit everything that moves. He no-sells a double-team attempt and chokeslams both Rico & Cena. Backdrop suplex gets two on Black. Bolin & Synn get involved again, but Bolin uses the briefcase to block the hairspray. He can’t block the nutshot, however. Black takes her out of the equation, but Leviathan absolutely pummels him with a spear for the pin at 9:18. The heel-heel dynamic didn’t work as well here, but it was a fun match. ***1/4

– Kenny Bolin and his crew do their Disciples of Synn impression. Mr. Black as the “Demon of the Deep-Fry”, Le-Fry-athan, is pretty funny. The Disciples of course hit the ring and exact revenge, complete with Synn throwing fire at Bolin.

– And finally, Kit Parker and Stu Ganz hype Wrestling Gold at an OVW show, but get attacked by Rico.

The Bottom Line:

Given the involvement of most of these people in day-to-day storylines of the WWE right now, this is a terrific opportunity to see them while they were developing and learning their craft. And since it’s OVW, there’s a very southern-wrestling feel to everything and none of the matches overstays its welcome. This is a group being trained as TV workers, and it shows.

Check it out at www.wrestlinggold.com, where they have a “Buy 3, get one free” deal on these along with “Before They Were Famous” (which I reviewed previously), “Night of the Legends” (coming this weekend) and “Blood, Brawls & Grudges” (more SMW).

Highly recommended for those curious about what guys like Cena and Rico can do in the ring.