Thanks to Larry Goodman for sending in the following:
9/9 Deep South Wrestling at Six Flags: Flair vs MVP, Gymini vs. DeMott & Deacon
Deep South Wrestling concluded their summer season with event number three at Six Flags over Georgia Saturday night. The third time was the charm, as it proved not only to be the most entertaining and best attended show of the series, but the best show in the history of the company.
There were no less than 1000 sets of eyeballs on the show at all times, and probably 1500+ total attendance, counting the autograph session and crowd turnover during the course of the evening.
It was no accident that DSW had a much hotter crowd for this show than their first two stabs at Six Flags. The talent has gotten tons better when it comes to connecting with the fans, and it paid big dividends. Without exception, the match quality met or exceeded expectations, particularly considering that some of the upper echelon DSW talent was booked elsewhere and several of the wrestlers that did appear on the show had virtually no match experience. And then there was the Flair factor.
Flair was received as the pro wrestling icon that he is in this part of the country. On a personal note, as someone that had the pleasure of seeing almost every match Flair wrestled at the Omni during the 80s and 90s, it sent a chill down my spine to hear that entrance music one more time.
(1) Tommy Suede beat G. Rilla in 4:35. Rilla’s colossal size provides him with a degree of instant credibility. Right at the opening bell, a fan yelled for Suede to “Run!” Not bad advice. Suede couldn’t make a dent in Rilla. Rilla applied a bearhug. When Suede tried a high crossbody, Rilla caught him like a small child, crushed him with a falling slam and pulled Suede up at the count of two. Moments later, Rilla went for a corner splash. Suede stepped aside and G Rilla’s chest tapped the turnbuckles. Suede took Rilla down with a flying bodypress for the three count. Match was fine, but the crowd didn’t buy the finish. They were sold on Rilla’s supremacy, so he needed to knock the wind out of himself on the bump to make it work.
(2) Jake Hager beat Ray Geezy in 8 minutes. Hager did what comes naturally and dominated the opening minutes with amateur style. Geezy got pissed about being outwrestled. With nary an ROH fan in the house, the crowd got restless about the perceived lack of action. They popped when Geezy started to brawl. Geezy staggered Hager with a series of punches and slapped on a rear chinlock. Hager rallied with a southpaw short arm clothesline. Hager slammed Gordy. Hager pulled the straps down. Hager leapfrogged Geezy and went for a hiptoss. Geezy tried for a reversal. Hager blocked it and snapped Geezy to the mat with a snug cradle to score the pinfall. Gordy and Hager shook hands after the match.
(3) Dan Rodimer beat Lawrence Tyler in 7:01. This match really picked up the show. Major props to Tyler, who was so strong as a heel that Rodimer was automatically over as a babyface. Yelling “shut up” and making one’s eyes bulge out doesn’t read like it would be all that entertaining, but Tyler did it in such a way that the crowd was totally into it. Tyler couldn’t cope with Rodimer’s power. Rodimer clotheslined Tyler over the top and chased him around the ring. Simple stuff but Tyler made it funny. Tyler cut Rodimer off as he reentered the ring. Tyler hit a missile dropkick. Tyler’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out his head when Rodimer kicked out. Tyler hit a Rude Awakening for another near fall. Tyler applied a sleeper. Rodimer made his comeback with stiff lariats and a gorilla press free fall, finishing Tyler with a full nelson slam.
(4) Majors Brothers (Brett & Brian) Urban Assault (Cocky Siaki & Eric Perez) via DQ at 11:12. This match also had excellent heat. Both teams revved up the crowd with their ring entrances. Majors jumped the barricade to slap hands with the fans. Siaki picked on a concession guy that looked like Carrot Top. Siaki slapped one of the Majors across the face, and took a flat back bump on the payback. Majors used quick tags to neutralize Assault. At 4:30, Siaki kicked Brett in the back when the ref wasn’t looking, and Perez followed with a lariat. Siaki ran across the ring and knocked Brett off the apron with an uppercut. Back in his own corner, Siaki waved to the crowd. Assault got heat on Brett. The highlights were a senton backsplash by Perez, and a picture perfect leg lariat by Siaki. The hot tag was indeed HOT. Brian downed Assault with lariats and dropkicks. Brain hit a spinebuster on Perez for false finish number one. Brett hit an Edge-o-matic on Perez and Siaki made the save. Heel chicanery enabled Perez to hit a spiral slam on Brian. Brett broke up the pin. Assault doubled up on Brian. They knocked ref Rob Russo down and he called for the bell. Brett cleared the ring brandishing steel chair. Crowd was ultra hot for the finish of this match. I’m looking forward to this feud.
(5) Mike Taylor (with Tracy Taylor) beat Danny Gimondo in 13:05. Once Gimondo had established himself as the heel, they did a lot of comedy. Gimondo showed a different side of his personality here, as he turned into a major buffoon. Stuff like the running the ropes deal where the babyface stops and watches while the heel runs himself into exhaustion. Taylor sat down in a chair and dared Gimondo to get into the ring. Later, Gimondo tried the same thing, but ref Rob Russo had removed the chair, so Gimondo fell on his ass. Gimondo did the fake knee injury and clipped Taylor’s knee when he turned his back. Gimondo posted Taylor’s knee. Taylor launched the big comeback, but missed with a forearm drop. Gimondo hit his running bulldog. But rather than going for the pin, Gimondo summoned Tracy to give him a kiss. Tracy glanced at the crowd to let them know what was coming –a crack across the face and a roll up for the three count.
(6) Shantelle beat Krissy Vaine in 8:12. This was better than any of the women’s stuff you’re likely to see on WWE TV that doesn’t involve Trish Stratus. Shantelle is a fiery, undersized babyface, like a femal Ricky Morton. Her displays of athletic ability had the crowd popping in several occasion. Vaine has the Diva looks, has a well-developed heel character, and she can wrestle. Seems like they both have a bright future, but this is a company that let Gail Kim go, so who knows. Shantelle made an impression on the crowd with a cartwheel into an armdrag, and a lucha style top rope armdrag. Vaine had seen enough. She threw Shantelle down by the hair and choked the life out of her. Vaine set Shantelle across the bottom rope and gave her a running derriere drop to the back. Shantelle got a sunset flip, and Vaine cut her off with a stiff lariat for a near fall. Vaine applied a camel clutch. Vaine told ref Scrappy McGowan to get her compact the corner, so she could check her hair. He did. Vaine said Shantelle was going to tap. She didn’t. Double hair facebuster and both women down. Shantelle with a flying headscissors for a near fall. Vaine tried for a slam. Shantelle countered with a reverse DDT to score the pinfall. Solid finisher.
(7) Bradley Jay beat Tony Santarelli (with Tracy) to retain the DSW Heavyweight Title in 10:57. Jay’s first title defense after beating Ryan O’Reilly for the title two night earlier. This was the natural point for an intermission, but the Six Flags shows are run without them. After 90 minutes of action, the crowd was running out steam, and this match suffered the consequences. Nothing wrong with the matwork here either. The crowd just wasn’t into it. Jay hit a gutbuster and attacked the midsection of Santarelli. Jay hung Santarelli upside down and worked over his gut. Santarelli reached up from the tree of woe, grabbed Jay’s head and flipped into a neckbreaker. Santarelli got near falls with a spinkick and a barrage of Kawada kicks. Santarelli escaped Jay’s finisher and went for reverse roll up. Jay kicked out, sending Santarelli into the turnbuckles. Jay hit the Kamikaze Roll for the win.
(8) Gymini (Jesse & Jake) beat Bill DeMott & Freakin Deacon in 8:54. Surprisingly strong crowd response for Deacon. DeMott was handing Jesse his ass. Jesse bailed out and was consoled by his brother. Deacon picked up where DeMott left off. Deacon whipped DeMott into the corner for a great freight train splash on Jesse. Jake kicked DeMott in the head when the ref wasn’t looking and switched in without tagging. Bigtime heat on DeMott. Deacon took the hot tag and cleaned house. Deacon laid out one of the Gymini with the big boot and tagged DeMott, who went to the top for his signature moonsault. But Deacon was distracted by the presence of the love of his life, the homeless lady (Melissa Coates) seen on the TV vignettes, who was wandering around ringside. How she got into Six Flags is one life’s great mysteries. In any case, the other Gymini crotched DeMott on the top turnbuckle. Gymini pinned DeMott with the Crosstrainer.
The DSW television play-by-play guy, Nigel Sherrod was introduced as the guest ring announcer for the main event. MVP was yapping on the cell phone as he made his way to the ring. He’s got star presence about him and his intro got a good response. The crowd treated Flair like a deity.
(9) Ric Flair beat Montel Vontavious Porter in 11:47. Flair was in wrestling mode here. MVP used hair to reverse a side headlock. MVP decked Flair with a shoulder tackle and mocked him. Flair knocked MVP down with a shoulder block. Flair chained a side headlock into a hammerlock, and MVP went to the ropes. MVP punched Flair on the break and backdropped him for a two count. The body of the match saw MVP work on Flair’s arm, and the crowd deep into Flair’s comeback chops. Flair started bleeding from the ear. MVP applied a sleeper. Flair countered with a back suplex, but MVP cut him off with an elbow drop. MVP missed a kneedrop off the middle rope. Flair immediately took MVP to school and applied the figure four. Sensing that the end was near, the crowd came to their feet. MVP held out a good while before tapping. Mega pop for Flair’s win. A good portion of the crowd rushed down to the barricade to close the show by giving Flair a proper send off.
NOTES: DSW has their first show in Griffin, Ga at Rushton Mills on 9/23…Several hundred passed through the autograph line for the DSW wrestlers that included High Impact, Majors Brothers and Shantelle… The first 100 fans in line got autographs from Flair..David Taylor was at ringside throughout the show…Matt Striker and Derrick Neikirk appeared on the ECW show in Tom’s River, NJ. Oleg Prudius was with the RAW crew in Fort Myers, Fl…Kevin Matthews had surgery for a torn bicep two months ago and is about three weeks away from being cleared to wrestle…After dropping the DSW title to Jay Thursday night, O’Reilly wasn’t booked at Six Flags or ECW…This show marked the 1 year anniversary of DSW’s first live event.
9/7 Deep South TV Taping Report (Spoilers)
The Deep South heavyweight title changed hands as Bradley Jay defeated Ryan O’Reilly to become the third champion in company history at the weekly television taping at the DSW Arena in McDonough, Georgia.
In addition, the conflict between Bill DeMott and the Gymini heated up again, leading to match being made for this Saturday’s event at Six Flags over Georgia, which is being headlined by Ric Flair.
Matt Striker and Kevin Matthews called the dark matches.
(A) Tommy Suede beat Francisco Ciatso in 5:53. Decent pop for Suede this week. Suede put on an armdrag clinic. But his dropkick came up short, and Ciatso went to work on his back, including the Cement Shoes (sidewalk slam) for a near fall. Suede’s comeback built to a running shooting star press for a near fall. Ciatso answered with a Polish Hammer. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be a Suede match without one badly screwed up spot. This time it was Suede’s moonsault off the second turnbuckle. Suede hit a great looking brainbuster to score the pinfall.
(B) Jake Hager beat Antonio Mestre in 3:07. This was the debut match for Hager, a former Oklahoma All-American wrestler. Hager has the long arms that are so advantageous in amateur wrestling. He stuck the basics and totally outwrestled the game gamer Mestre. Mestre knocked Hager on his ass with a forearm and hit Russian legsweep for a near fall. In a flash, Hager pinned Mestre with a three quarter nelson.
(C) G-Rilla beat Bully Douglas in 30 seconds. Nigel Sherrod came out to intro G-Rilla, a massive dude built more along the lines of a giant Samoan than a WWE prototype. Rumor has it that G-Rilla was formerly a bodyguard for Paris Hilton. Nigel Sherrod wanted to get the scoop. Douglas said nobody cared and challenged G-Rilla to a match. G-Rilla stepped over the top rope and made short work of Bully with a big splash.
(D) Dan Rodimer beat Heath Miller in 5:12. Likewise, this was Rodimer’s debut in DSW. Quite the imprssive physique on Rodimer and arrogance to burn, like a taller version of Randy Orton. They wisely resisted the temptation (pressure?) to put him out there too soon, and waited until he could perform a decent short match using basic power moves. When Rodimer missed an elbow drop, Miller tried to work the arm. Rodimer blasted him with shoulder blocks and choked him until he was blue. Rodimer no-sold a pair of lariats. Miller ducked Rodimer’s reply and hit flying lariat for a near fall. Miller dropkicked Rodimer, who kicked out at one and ended it with a full nelson slam.
(E) Derrick Niekirk & Danny Gimondo beat Ray Geezy & Damien Steel in 9:18. Geezy and Steele used a headlock to control Neikirk in the early going. At 4 minutes in, Neikirk posted Geezy’s arm, while ref Scrappy McGowan was busy admonishing Steele at the time. The heels proceeded to do a number on Geezy’s arm. At one point, the crowd got behind Geezy with a bit of an “A-T-L” chant. Neikirk tried to knock Steele down to prevent a tag, but Steele smartly jumped off the apron to avoid it. Steele cleaned house with dropkicks. 4 way action ensued. Gimondo wasted Gordy with a divorce court on the arm. Steele went to the top for his finisher and was able to fight off both heels. But Gimondo brought him off the top with a stunner for the pin.
Nigel Sherrod and Bill DeMott came out to handle commentary for the television taping.
Ring announcer Ted Guinness informed the fans that tonight’s merchandise drawing would feature autographed photos of Bill DeMott. Gymini entered through the front door of the Arena (just like last week). They called DeMott ancient history and tore up the photos. Heated words were exchanged before the ref brigade was able to get Gymini out the front door.
A brief promo by Majors Brothers was shown on the big screen.
(1) Brian Majors (with Brett Majors) beat Lawrence Tyler in 6:06. Fun match. Tyler has the bestest bleached blonde sideburns this side of Superstar Graham. Tyler flipped Majors into the buckles by his hair to start the rough stuff. Tyler worked on Majors’ gut. Majors broke Tyler’s abdominal stretch with a hiptoss. Tyler hit a spinebuster that would have made Double A proud for a near fall. Majors hit a top rope elbow that would have made the Showstoppah even prouder to get the pin.
Striker came out and rudely interrupted Guinness. Striker was hilarious as the fountain of dated references here. He told “Joe Pedicino” to hit the buffet table, adding that Lee Marshall wanted his waistline back. Striker said he had gone from being the best kept secret on RAW to “the man that put the ream in Extreme.” Striker called out the Deep South Divas: Tracy Taylor, Shantelle, Luscious, Krissy Vaine and Angel Williams. Striker had the name of an 80’s female wrestling character to match each of them, for example, Misty Blue for Shantelle. “Queen Diva” Williams and Vaine acted like the other Divas were second class citizens. Striker said Vince had given him the task of assessing the talent and deciding which Deep South Diva would be signed to a major league contract in the coming weeks.
(2) Freakin Deacon dismantled Biohazard in 1:09. Biohazard didn’t get a thing. Deacon used the Arachnilock to send Biohazard into la la land and pinned him. Deacon exited out the front door, presumably headed over to the manhole for some rest.
Prudius did a backstage promo in English. “Good challenger is dead challenger.”
(3) Oleg Prudius decimated Onyx in 1:30. Prudius did the Russian national anthem. He glared at the crowd more this time. Whatever he may lack, Prudius brings the intensity and gets heat. Onyx did get a bit of flurry before Prudius started manhandling him. Prudius won it with the Russian rack drop.
A Bradley Jay promo was shown on the big screen. Jay said he was kicking the door to the Rough House down and taking the title from O’Reilly. The fact that O’Reilly didn’t get any promo time should have clued me in that the belt, oops title, was changing hands.
(4) Bradley Jay beat Ryan O’Reilly to win the DSW Heavyweight Title in 7:09. An OK match. O’Reilly’s pop is nothing like it was at its peak, but the crowd did kick in the “O-RY-LEE” chant. It started as a titanic battle of lockups and waistlocks. They traded heavy blows. Jay went down and out of the ring. O’Reilly made the mistake of chasing, and Jay cut him off as he came back through the ropes. Jay worked the arm with a hammerlock. O’Reilly ducked and Jay went through the ropes and took a nasty bump on the floor. It was comeback time. O’Reilly hit a modified FU for a near fall, but there was nobody home on O’Reilly’s top rope headbutt. Jay hit the Kamikaze Roll to win the title clean in the middle. A shocking outcome to say the least.
Promo by Urban Assault. Cocky Siaki said he was tired of the mohawk and and the chubby surfer kid, and Tracy couldn’t dance because she wasn’t Samoan. He said if Impact liked to play games, he one for them: Assault and Battery.
The High Impact promo focused on the question of what the French Alps had in common with Urban Assault’s egos and Tracy’s breasts. Impact said Assault beat them last week (non-title) by kicking Taylor in the back and pulling his shorts.
(5) High Impact (Mike Taylor & Tony Santarelli with Tracy Taylor) versus Urban Assault (Cocky Siaki & Eric Perez) ended as a TV time limit draw (8:59). Good match. Hot near falls down the stretch with a well-executed finish. Impact and Deacon were neck and neck for the best intro pop. Assault got the most heat, but Prudius and Tyler weren’t far behind. Impact had control when sure enough, Perez pulled Taylor’s shorts to foil a monkey flip on Siaki. Assault got bigtime heat on Taylor, using bearhugs to cut off his path to his partner. Taylor surprised Siaki with a sunset flip and scrambled out of Siaki’s pin attempt to make the hot tag. Santarelli assaulted Assault with Kawada kicks. He went for a pin on Siaki put Perez saved. Siaki hit a rolling neckbreaker for a close near fall on Santarelli. Perez hit a spiral slam on Santarelli and Tayor saved. Assault was double-teaming Taylor on the outside when Santarelli broked it up with a flip dive, and almost came straight down on his head. Moments later, Siaki put Santarelli’s lights out with a kick in the head. Siaki covered and the bell rang at the count of two, with no sign that Santarelli was kicking out. Assault went nuts and beat the hell out of Impact in the postmatch.
NOTES: Last night’s attendance was 160…The 9/9 Six Flags show starts with an autograph signing at 5pm. Bell time is at 6pm…Simon Dean was backstage…Mike Knox was also backstage. Knox finished up here last week by winning a taped fist match against former partner, Derrick Neikirk. That match will be the main event on the DSW television episode airing this Sunday night at 11pm on Comcast Sports South…Mike Johnson of PWInsider recently reported that Deep South is one of three wrestling promotions that will have a timeslot on the MAV television network starting this fall… Douglas drove in from Nashville for the third week in a row.
