Match ratings guide: penalty (bad), audit (average), deduction (good), return (excellent).
Event Details:
Location: The Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky
Hosts: Dean Hill and Kenny Bolin
-Footage is shown of last week’s OVW Southern Tag Team Championship match that saw Deuce & Domino pull off an upset and take the straps from CM Punk and Seth Skyfire. Afterwards, Punk and Skyfire argue over the outcome of the match.
–Opening Contest: Mike Kruel vs. Cody Runnels:
Runnels is of course the ladies favorite in OVW and he gets lots of screams when he comes out behind the curtain. I think this guy might make it because he exudes a certain type of charisma that even the guys in the audience appreciate. Lockup to start leads to a stalemate and another lockup sees Kruel get a waistlock until Runnels reverses. They battle over that and Kruel gets an arm ringer but Runnels gets in one of his own to a headlock. This is like an old school AWA match…oh yea, forgot that Greg Gagne is the head booker now. Runnels works in the headlock ala Bret Hart against Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam 1991 and Kruel whips out of it only to get hit with a shoulderblock off the ropes for one. Runnels goes back to the headlock as the crowd remains in the match.
Kruel forearms Runnels in the gut and whips him chest-first into the turnbuckle and follows it up with a knee to the back. Kruel whips Runnels into the opposite corner but Runnels floats over on a blind charge and takes Kruel back down with a headlock and that gets a few near falls. I cannot fault Runnels for at least doing something with the maneuver but I feel like I am watching Shawn Michaels-Tito Santana from WrestleMania VIII. Kruel gets in the ropes to break the headlock and throws a tantrum in front of the referee over an alleged hair pull which is funny because Kruel has no hair. Kruel in a fit of rage slaps Runnels in the face who responds in kind and takes him back down with….you guessed it, a headlock for another near-fall.
Kruel pushes Runnels into the corner and when the referee attempts to break it up, Kruel gets in a punch over the referee. Kruel hits Runnels in the throat with a kick and chokes him on the top rope. Kruel uses the ropes to fling Runnels backward for two. Chinlock time for Kruel and it looks more devastating than John Cena’s STFU . Runnels gets up and elbows out only to get hit with a knee that looks like it was a whiff for two. Kruel argues over the count with the referee and when he turns around to face Runnels he gets caught with a running forearm. Runnels follows it up with another forearm and wheels off some Dusty Rhodes looking punches. Runnels whips Kruel into the corner and hits him with a backdrop on the rebound. Runnels gets in a series of nice looking dropkicks and hooks in the sleeperhold (which REALLY needs a name) and Kruel passes out at 5:55.
MATCH RATING: AUDIT. Good back and forth match that really showcased Runnels technical aspects. I was not a fan of the headlock spots but I see how they could be viewed as a wear down hold (to use Jesse Ventura lingo) to set up the sleeperhold. Runnels continues to impress, though, and I see him as a great WWE prospect because he has a natural charisma and his ring work will retain the male fan base and not just the screaming ladies.
-KC James and Aaron “the Idol” Stevens say that Cody Runnels and his dad have started a war with the best tag team in the world and that he is now their top target.
-Maria interviews Jacob Duncan, you know the guy from the woods. Maria is wearing quite the revealing dress which is nice but this promo is not. I blame some of it on the technical staff because with Duncan’s voice it is tough to make everything audible. Duncan says that last week was only the beginning of his wrath.
–R-Ka-Us vs. Jacob Duncan:
They just had to put R-Ka-Us in there to make my job of typing up this match hard didn’t they? R-Ka-Us tries to use his speed early on to outwit Duncan but when he runs the ropes one too many times he gets hit with a big foot in the face. Duncan grabs R-Ka-Us by the ears and drags him in a circle before throwing him on the mat. That was a really weird maneuver. Duncan gets a running clothesline to the back of R-Ka-Us’s head and one full nelson slam later and its over at 1:08.
MATCH RATING: PENALTY. Total squash. Not as enjoyable as last week’s squash because more power moves (Duncan’s strength) were not displayed.
-We go backstage where Punk and Skyfire are preparing for tonight’s tag team championship match. Punk asks Skyfire what he was thinking when he tagged him in last week and Skyfire says he did not know he was that hurt last week (what?!?!?). Punk comes across decent in this angle advancement promo but Skyfire comes across as really weak and out of place.
-Backstage the ODB looks at her Women’s Championship belt still reflecting on how she won it and she is hanging out with her girlfriends until Charles “The Hammer” Evans comes in and orders them out. The girls leave and when they do, Evans closes the door, red lights come on, and “Let’s Get it On” comes in for background music. Evans tells the ODB that they will be doing stuff together and ODB disgustingly swats the bubbles now engulfing the room. Evans gives her some champagne which she quickly scarfs down and wants more. Before Evans can get his “mack on”, though, until Serena interrupts and says that she has a problem and we get a weird, unconvincing shouting match back and forth for a little while. ODB says that tonight she will defend her Women’s Championship against on of the top ten contenders, a list that Serena is not on. Somehow that gets scrapped and ODB says that she will pick someone from the top ten contenders for Serena to face off with next week. Serena leaves and Evans goes back to his romantic thing which culminates in him asking ODB to bite some bubbles as she chugs down the wine. This segment was funny at first but went steadily downhill after that. Way too long but it was still much more entertaining than the crap we see on RAW every week.
–Neighborhoodie & Shad Gaspard vs. Brent Albright & “Bad Seed” Shawn Osborne:
Neighborhoodie and Albright start and while they are looking at each other in the ring, Gaspard attacks Osborne and throws him face first into the ringside barricade. When Albright turns to see what has happened to his partner, Neighborhoodie hits him from behind for one. Neighborhoodie pushes Albright into his team’s corner and he gets a shoulder thrust as Gaspard chokes and holds onto Albright. Tag Gaspard and he really f*cks up tossing Albright across the ring so much so that he basically lays Albright onto the canvas and falls flat on his face. Gaspard no-sells some Albright punches and gives him a knee to the gut and I guess Albright is not sure how to sell it because he stays hunched over for a second and then falls down on all fours. This is hilarious.
Gaspard throws Albright into his team’s corner and clotheslines him against the buckles. Tag Neighborhoodie and after Gaspard whips Albright into their corner he whips Neighborhoodie into the same corner and they double splash Albright against the buckles but that only gets two. Neighborhoodie hooks in a sitting abdominal stretch, a move I last saw in WCW vs. NOW World Tour for the N64. Albright fights up and gets a small package but Gaspard is distracting the referee and no count is logged. Neighborhoodie pounds Albright when he gets to his feet and rams him into his team’s corner. Tag Gaspard and he delivers a running kick to Albright’s gut. Albright gets in an awkward rally out of the heel corner spot as Osborne is STILL incapacitated. Get that guy some medical attention ASAP because he is going to suffer brain damage! Gaspard gets a running fist for two.
Tag Neighborhoodie and Gaspard and Neighborhoodie try to repeat their double splash against the corner spot but Albright moves out of the way when Neighborhoodie gets whipped in and Gaspard, failing to notice that his partner is slumped against the buckles behind Albright, charges in and Albright avoids that so Gaspard hits his partner. Albright gets a backdrop to Gaspard and then clotheslines Neighborhoodie. He follows that up by hurling a charging Gaspard to the arena floor and trapping Neighborhoodie in the Crowbar and that gets the submission at 4:21. Afterwards, Gaspard tries to beat up Albright but he gets trapped in a Crowbar as well.
MATCH RATING: PENALTY. I was not a big fan of this match. Too many miscommunications occurred and Neighborhoodie and Gaspard just do not have the offense to carry a tag match. I am sorry to say that but the only tag team move they seem to have is that double splash against the corner and after they hit the first time you KNOW they are going to miss it the second time. Wayyyy too predictable.
-Boris Alexiev narrates a judo video and explains that he has come to OVW to show that he is the best wrestler in the world. Pretty tight video. WWE could learn a thing or two from this stuff.
–OVW Women’s Championship Match: ODB (Champion) vs. ???:
Charles Evans comes out and throws the female production assistant of OVW who sits near the entrance ramp into the ring against her wishes and prevents her from leaving. This is such a waste on so many levels. After Evans yells at the production assistant some more, the woman lies down and that gets the pin in thirty-one seconds. Afterwards, ODB gets on the microphone and says that Serena will be facing Beth Phoenix.
MATCH RATING: PENALTY. I do not even need to explain this one.
-CM Punk and Seth Skyfire have another verbal jousting match backstage and Punk says that they are cool as long as Skyfire does not screw things up like he did last week. Skyfire says that he did not screw anything up and that he is ready to take on the Southern tag team champions.
–OVW Southern Tag Team Championship Match: Deuce & Domino (Champions w/Cherry) vs. CM Punk & Seth Skyfire:
Skyfire and Punk display some obvious mistrust before the start of the match and as they wait for the champions to make their way to ringside. After an argument, Punk gets the nod to start for his team and Deuce starts for the champions. Lockup to start leads to Punk getting a schoolboy for one. Another lockup sees Punk get an armbar and arm ringer before tagging in Skyfire. Skyfire gets an arm ringer and works the arm onto the canvas where it is turned into a backslide for two. Tag Punk and get kicks Deuce in the upper chest and takes him down for one. However, an Irish whip into the ropes gets reversed and Punk gets kicked in the back from Domino who is on the apron. Deuce plants Punk with a faceplant and he gets a kiss from cherry for his efforts. After combing the hair a little bit, Deuce runs the ropes and he gets kicked in the back by Skyfire. Punk uses the opening to tag in Skyfire but he misses a standing moonsault after a snapmare and Domino gets tagged in.
Skyfire gets a Steamboat-like armdrag into an armbar as Domino is charging at him off the ropes and tag Punk. Punk and Skyfire agree on a double-backdrop when they whip Domino into the ropes but instead of backdropping Domino with Punk, Skyfire dropkicks Domino and Punk briefly argues with him before covering for two. Domino gets a kneelift and tag Deuce who gets a knee to the gut. Deuce whips Punk into the corner but a blind charge misses and Punk gets a schoolboy for two. Tag Skyfire and he gets a Side Russian legsweep for two. Deuce manages to get Skyfire into the heel corner and tag Domino. Domino whips Skyfire into the corner but Skyfire hits his spinning kick off the top rope. However, Skyfire has his leg grabbed onto by Cherry and Deuce jerks Skyfire to the floor where he picks up Cherry and she drives her skates into Skyfire’s back. That is the first time I have seen Cherry get involved in a match in any capacity. Glad to see it. Anyway, Deuce rolls Skyfire back into the ring and Domino covers for two as we go to commercials.
When we return Deuce is in the ring and he gives Skyfire a backbreaker and then stretches him across his knee trying to get a submission. Skyfire fights out but is dragged into the heel corner before he can tag Punk. Tag Domino and Deuce whips Skyfire into the corner where Domino hits him in the back with some lifted knees. Domino hits a double underhook suplex for two. Domino backs Skyfire into the heel corner and Deuce chokes him behind the referee’s back. I have to say that I am glad that Deuce and Domino have adopted more heel tactics to clearly delineate that they are the bad guys here. The heels beat on Skyfire as Punk has the referee inadvertently distracted and then Deuce and Punk trade jawing with the referee as Domino chokes Skyfire in the corner. When the referee finally turns around Deuce covers for two. Tag Domino and he nails Skyfire in the back with a double axehandle off the top rope as Deuce holds him in place for two. Domino applies a reverse chinlock and he should drive the knee into the back for maximum effect (but he doesn’t) and Domino tags in Deuce who comes in and applies the hold with the knee being dug into the back. THAT is some good psychology there.
However, when Skyfire is fighting out, Deuce tries a kneedrop only to have Skyfire moves and that hurts Deuce’s knee. Nevertheless, he manages to pull Skyfire over into the heel corner and tag in Domino. Deuce whips Skyfire into more attempted knees by Domino in the corner only to have Skyfire hit Domino with a kneelift and an elbow to the face and then duck an incoming Deuce fist to give a momentum swinging tag to Punk. Punk gives some fists to the heel, hits Deuce with a high kick, backdrops both of the heels, kicks Domino in the mid-section, and whips Deuce into the opposite corner where he hits him with a running knee followed by a running bulldog and then clotheslines Domino as he is completing the move. That was a fun variation on the running bulldog there. Punk then covers Domino for two. Punk gets ready to apply the Anaconda Vice to Domino but Cherry is distracting the referee and Deuce breaks it up with an axehandle.
Deuce whips Punk into the corner and charges in but gets backdropped onto the apron and then dropkicked off the second rope to the floor. Domino greets Punk with a fist and thinks he has Punk where he wants him onto to have Punk wiggle free, go wild with some slaps, and deliver a high kick to the face for two. Skyfire pulls himself onto the apron, obviously hurt, and Punk tags in Skyfire. Skyfire looks at Punk in a “what in the hell are you doing?” way and Domino snapmares Skyfire into a vicious running boot from Deuce and that finishes at 11:16.
MATCH RATING: DEDUCTION. Good match in the main event (so that streak stays alive) but I enjoyed last week’s match better because it made the champions look a lot stronger than they did here. I like the storytelling they are doing with Punk-Skyfire but I always think in these rematches that they need to replay spots from last weeks match and have a different twist on them because that would really add to the psychology of the match. Solid effort from everyone here and it was cool seeing Cherry get involved so many times but the lack of a lot of strong possible finishing sequences kept this one out of “return” territory. Still a good match, though.
FINAL EVALUATION: The Runnels match was good for showcasing his technical skills to start the show and the main event was fun but everything in between was very boring and silly. The Duncan squash should have been extended a little more to showcase his power, the ODB situation was just weird and I did not care for it, and the tag match involving Albright was not good at all. Probably the worst of the OVW shows I have seen so far but hey, it was not worse than RAW.
