NWA Wildside TV Taping

NWA Wildside taped two solid hours of television last night. Coming off the
mammoth Freedom Fight show just one week ago, this was a show to tell stories
and move in some new directions. Among themwere back to back heel turns by
Dustin and Henry Hoss of all people and a surprise appearance by the ultimate
loose cannon (and loose he was), New Jack. Although they did a strong angle
at Freedom Fight to set up the main event for this taping, it did nothing at
the gate to overcome the double whammy of the summer season and the usual
letdown after a big show. There were only 70 in the house.

1) Malaki beat Sweet Dreams in 4:49. Typical dark match. Malaki is a pretty
big dude who looks like he's doing a roid rage gimmick. Dreams got a quick
flurry at the start. Malaki took time out. Dreams pursued. Malaki climbed
back in and stomped Dreams on the head as he slid under the ropes. Power
offense by Malaki for a couple of two counts. Dreams got a sunset flip with
Malaki doing the big windmill thing with his arms on the way down. Malaki cut
Dreams off with a clothesline. Malaki missed on a twisting splash off the
ropes. Dreams hit a blockbuster. Malaki pinned Dreams after a back suplex?!

2) Gabriel beat Tony Stradlin by DQ in one minute flat. NWA VP Bill Behrens
would not permit Azrael to be at ringside due to his knee injury. Stradlin
yelled at Behrens to get Azrael out of there. Gabriel started firing right
hands. Gabriel whipped Stradlin into an upside down bump in the corner.
Stradlin went to the outside. Gabriel tossed him back in the ring. Stradlin
tried begging for mercy, but that didn't stop Gabriel from laying in the
boots. Standing switch by Gabriel. His rolling reverse cradle attempt was
blocked by Stradlin, who missed on a twisting dropkick. Gabriel went to the
top. Todd Sexton dumped Gabriel into the ring for the DQ. T-N-T gave Gabriel
the spike cradle piledriver...and another one. Gabriel was holding his neck.
They knocked down ref Speedy Nelson. Azrael tried to save, but Stradlin did a
baseball slide right to his injured left knee. Stradlin gave Gabriel a
tombstone piledriver. Azrael was finally able to limp into the ring with
chair to save his partner. Security had to help Gabriel to the back. Hot
segment.

3) Slim J won a five way elimination match over, Kid Xtasy, Kid Kool, Jeremy
V and Derrick Driver to become the number one contender for the Wildside
Junior title (7:51). This match turned out to be one of the highlights of the
first hour. J and Xtasy went to a chain wrestling stand off. Good stuff. V
and Driver tagged in. Driver has improved his look a bit. Driver caught V
with an armdrag. J made a blind tag and pounced on V for a quick two count.
Kool headscissored J over the top to set up a series of dives. Xtasy and
Driver hit planchas. V came up short on a tope con hilo and crashed onto the
wood floor. J did a spectacular corkscrew plancha. G-Rated eliminated Driver
with a double inverted DDT. Kool used Xtasy as a launching pad for a
huracanrana. V eliminated Xtasy with a new finisher, where he puts his victim
in a crucifix powerbomb position, then releases as he falls back, sending the
victim face down into the canvas. Kool took over on V, eliminating him with
an inverted X factor off the ropes. That left J and Kool. J did his
climbing-the-ropes roundhouse kick for a two count. Kool did a kip up
headscissors. Kool came off the top with a stunner type move that drove J's
face into the mat. J was selling like crazy. Two count only for Kool. Kool
went to the top again, but J bumped the ropes to crotch Kool on the top
buckle. J also pulled off a new finisher. He mounted Kool on his shoulders,
pulled him forward into a cradle, and dropped him straight down on his head.
J celebrated by grabbing his crotch.

4) Tank vs. Scottie Wrenn went to a double count out in 3:19. Tank set Nelson
on the top rope. Wrenn took him down. They went collar and elbow. Neither man
budged. Both tried shoulder tackles that didn't seem much damage. Wrenn was
able to stagger Tank with a clothesline. They exchanged arm wringers. Tank
broke Wrenn down with a spinning armbar. Wrenn went for a kick that got
nothing but thin air. They slapped the crap out of each other. Tank went
through the ropes when Wrenn stepped aside. Wrenn gave Tank a shot into the
security rail. Tank whipped Wrenn into the rail. Wrenn whipped Tank over the
rail. They were battling in the seats when Nelson called for the bell. Fans
chanted "bullshit." They brawled through the crowd out into the parking lot,
where Wrenn whipped Tank into the fence surrounding the boiled peanut stand.
The finish of this match is not likely to make for compelling television, as
it will fully expose the sparse crowd.

5) Caprice Coleman beat Tony Mamaluke to retain the World TV Title in 6:18.
This was a fresh pairing that definitely worked. One that left me wanting to
see more. Coleman checked ref Andrew Thomas behind the ears. Not sure what he
was looking for. Mamaluke gave Coleman his Italian monster facial expression.
Coleman said he was scared and started laughing. The fans pissed Mamaluke off
by starting the "Where's my pizza?" chant. Mamaluke tried two headlock
takeovers with Coleman countering each time with a headscissors. They
exchanged hammerlocks. Coleman got a fireman's carry takedown, but Mamaluke
reversed him for a two count. Mamaluke gave Coleman the Sicilian salute.
Coleman started to mock Mamaluke and then surprised him with a series of Ali
style punches. Mamaluke went airborne on the right hand knockout shot.
Coleman went for a German suplex. I think Mamaluke was trying to land on his
feet but didn't quite make it. Mamaluke hiptossed Coleman into an armlock
submission. Mamaluke did a double underhook, to a DDT, to a choke out
submission without releasing his grip. Very cool. Coleman came back with a
leaping rolling neckbreaker. He went for the senton/Asai moonsault combo, but
Mamaluke had his knees up on the moonsault. Mamaluke used a gourdbuster, a
snap suplex and a Russian legsweep. Time for another painful looking
submission by Mamaluke, in the form of a combination armbar/headscissors.
Mamaluke was feeling so good he did a little dance step. Coleman made the
comeback with a pair of Northern lights, followed by a Flatliner. Coleman
missed with a legdrop of the top. Mamaluke went to the top. Coleman
dropkicked the ropes to crotch him. Mamaluke missed on a splash attempt and
Coleman hit the Thermal Shock to score the pinfall. Did my eyes deceive me or
did Mamaluke give Coleman a small sign of respect after the match?

6) Iceberg (with Jeff G. Bailey) beat David Young in one minute flat. Young
went right at Iceberg, pounding him with punches. Iceberg reversed a whip and
tried for an Avalanche splash, but nobody was home. Iceberg blocked Young's
spinebuster and hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Finish saw Bailey trip Young as
he ran the ropes and Iceberg splash him on the back for the three count.
Murder One joined Iceberg for a double backdrop on Young, before Rick
Michaels cleared the ring with a baseball bat.

7) Future Shock (Jay Freeze & Brandon P) & John Dalton vs. Rage (Mike Pittman
& Scott Cage) & Big Henry Hoss went to a no contest in 7:06. Cage and P did
some nice work to start the match. Cage had the advantage until P bailed out.
Rage did a double flapjack on Freeze. Pittman continued the attack on Freeze.
Hoss tagged in briefly for a spinebuster Freeze. Dalton refused to get in
against Hoss. Pittman hit a neckbreaker and went for a cover that was broken
up by Dalton. Future Shock did a Freeze tombstone/P elbow drop combo to start
the heels got heat on Pittman. Dalton hit Pittman with a kick of death and
left the rest of the work to Future Shock. Freeze used a facebuster to the
knee and turned Pittman inside out with a clothesline. P leveled him with a
superkick. Pittman hit his uranage buttbuster to set up the hot tag. Hoss
cleaned house on Freeze. Rage had Freeze beaten with their nagasateru
neckbreaker finisher, when Hoss turned on them with a double clothesline.
Dalton joined Hoss to stomp the stuffings out of Rage and toss them out of
the ring. Hoss called for the mic. He said his last partner (the infamous
Cooter Calhoun) walked out on him. Hoss accused the fans of not giving a damn
about him. Hoss introduced Dalton (at 6-5 and 265) as his new partner. "If
you don't like it, you can stick it up your tailpipe. By the way, I never
liked you bunch of idiots anyway."

I'm trying to withhold judgment on this new development. The crowd didn't
seem to get into it much. Maybe more Rage vs. Future Shock matches isn't such
a bad idea after all.

8) "That Guy" Dustin beat "The Winner" Kevin Harden & Jeff G. Bailey in 4:33.
Bailey was hilarious with his martial arts poses and those white knee pads.
Bailey said to ring the bell for a count out because Dustin was too terrified
to show up. Dustin hit the ring with stiff clotheslines, a spinning
headscissors and vicious chops. Dustin kicked and punched the bejesus out of
Harden. Dustin hit a couple of suplexes and clotheslined Harden over the top.
Bailey got on his knees in the corner, begging for mercy. Harden saved in the
knick of time with a forearm shot to Dustin's back. Harden took over on
Dustin, with a belly to belly and some stiff chops of his own. Harden ate a
boot as he charged into the corner. Dustin came off the top to drop Harden
with a neckbreaker. Dustin whipped Harden into a tag with Bailey, who wanted
no part of Dustin. He yelled for Harden to do something. Dustin suddenly
punked out Harden. Dustin allowed Bailey, who was grinning from ear to ear,
make the pin.

While Dustin punched and choked Harden, Bailey got on the mic. He said Dustin
had truly earned the name Lazarus. He was the man who had beaten down Onyx
and Adam Jacobs. Now, he was reborn. Bailey promised Lazarus that the lights
and music would be back. He was not a joke any more. Bailey said he had
someone to keep Lazarus on the straight and narrow. Out came some girl named
Lisa wearing a leopard skin outfit. She looked to be a good 15 pounds too
heavy for the role. This girl had enough junk in her trunk for a decent size
yard sale. Bailey said, "She's yours to do whatever you want." Lisa slapped
and kicked Harden as best she could.

9) Rick Michaels beat Murder One (formerly Homicide) on a DQ in 3:24. Murder
One has a different look to go with the new name. Fast-paced action here.
Michaels outwrestled One. He landed a pair of dropkicks. They went back and
forth blocking hiptosses. One hiptossed Michaels over the top and beat him
down with right hands on the outside. Back in the ring, One gave Michaels a
flapjack. They started brawling with One getting the best of it. At this
point, both guys are busting ass and some idiot starts a "boring" chant.
Michaels obviously didn't like it and I couldn't blame him. Michaels had One
beaten with the Double Shot when New Jack hit the ring for the DQ.

New Jack pulled out an Exacto knife...and a sickle. It looked like Michaels
was headed for the killing floor again until Tank intervened. Jack sliced and
stabbed at Tank's forehead. Tank got some color. Wrenn came to ringside with
that psychotic look on his face. He had a chair. Jack wasn't impressed. "You
piece of shit, Yo ass is next." Wrenn hit the ring, so Jack and One took the
cowards way out and powdered to the outside. So far so good. Wrenn headed
back towards the ramp. At this point, Jack and One got back in the ring. Jack
started baiting Wrenn with some serious name calling. Bill Behrens, chief
security guy, Lu Lu and ref Andrew Thomas were all holding Wrenn back on the
ramp. Jack threw a chair. Wrenn charged the ring. Jack retreated to the
concession stand. He tossed a trash can into the ring. Jack calmly pulled a
pickle out a jar at the concession stand and started gnawing on it, which got
a natural babyface response from the crowd and was a great way to make Wrenn
look stupid. Not exactly what the bookers had in mind here. Jack got back in
the ring and spit the pickle residue towards Wrenn. He challenged Wrenn &
Tank to a tag match at the next taping. "You got your f*cking job cut out for
you." Jack threatened to whip them like runaway slaves. He said Tank's head
looked like a bloody tampon. "Bill Behrens, there go the neighborhood." Jack
said all the white women were invited back to his hotel. "We gonna do some
Oreo stuff."

This was all very heated and highly entertaining but totally counter
productive for booking purposes. They will have to do some heavy editing to
make it usable for TV, if it airs at all. It seems like a heavy price to pay
for the New Jack name, when it involves allowing a guy, who is yesterday's
news, to repeatedly come in and go into business for himself.

10) Jimmy Rave beat Jeremy Lopez to retain the NWA World Junior Title in
11:19. Rave's first title defense was a technically superb match that
suffered from a lack of heat. The opening chain wrestling sequence ended with
a snapmare and a dropkick to the back of the head by Lopez. Rave had Lopez
scrambling for the ropes with a surprise cross armbreaker. Rave worked on the
arm. Lopez tried to counter out, but Rave would not release his grip. Lopez
bailed out selling the arm. They broke cleanly out of the collar and elbow
tie up. Lopez got the advantage. He blocked a hiptoss, so Rave went to the
cross armbreaker again, with Lopez getting the ropes break. It was Lopez's
turn to work the arm. Lopez knocked Rave through the ropes with a roaring
elbow and connected on a baseball side to the outside. He rolled Rave back
inside for a two count. Lopez hit a standing dropkick. Rave did the dropkick
to the shins as a prelude to the Shining Enzuigiri, but Lopez ducked it and
locked on the STF. Rave made the ropes. Lopez went for the inverted
tarantula. Rave got two counts with the move of the night, the reverse
rolling cradle, and a schoolboy. Rave did a spinning headscissors into a
Crippler Crossface. Lopez made the ropes. Lopez hit a brainbuster. Rave
kicked out of his lazy back cover. Lopez pulled off Rave's shirt and choked
him with it. Lopez blocked Rave's attempt at a German, but Rave hit a
Northern lights bomb for a close two count. Rave speared Lopez in the corner.
Lopez blocked the Gravity Killer, hit an elevated DDT off the second rope and
followed with a Tiger bomb! Rave barely kicked out. Lopez missed with a
forearm and Rave hit the Gravity Killer, but Lopez kicked out. They exchanged
hard slaps. "Ichiban!" Lopez hit another elevated DDT, but Rave had a foot
over the ropes. Lopez laid his title belt in the ring. Just as Lopez was
preparing to tattoo Rave's head with a DDT on the belt, Rave cradled him for
the three count.

11) Adam Jacobs & A. J. Styles vs. Rainman & John Phoenix (with Jeff G.
Bailey) went to a double pin finish in 9:53. Excellent main event as usual.
The good news was that after almost a year off, Phoenix passed "the Air Paris
test" (Paris returned after taking several months off and looked horrible).
He's obviously been working out because the explosiveness in his moves was
even better than before. They opened with some stereo spots with the heels
gaining control. Phoenix tried for a double springboard Arabian press to the
floor but had to jump back to the ring and settle for the standard version.
Phoenix came right back with an awesome tope con hilo. Phoenix used the old
Suicidal Tendencies foot tag. Rainman got hung up on an Asai moonsault
attempt and double teamed. Rainman ended a series of counters with a
superkick. Rainman went to the top, but Styles kicked the ropes to crotch
him. Rainman fell into the tree of woe position, and Styles caught him with a
flying forearm to the face. Jacobs used a drop toehold and mounted Phoenix
with punches. Phoenix cut him off with a stiff kick and hit a brainbuster.
The one he taught Jason Cross. The heels doubled on Jacobs with back elbows.
Rainman got two with the buttbomb. Phoenix hit a frogsplash and made an
arrogant cover for a two count. Jacobs got a roll up two count. Jacobs came
back firing kicks, until Phoenix took out his leg. Rainman kept the heat on
Jacobs, hitting a jumping sidewalk slam for a near fall. Rainman dumped
Jacobs, so Bailey could get in some cheap shots, but Styles ran over to clock
Bailey. Jacobs took a slam off the top ala Ric Flair. Jacobs did a spinning
bump off Rainman's dropkick. Jacobs finally caught Phoenix with a swinging
neckbreaker and made the tag. Styles hit the ring throwing clotheslines.
Styles used the Cliffhanger (crucifix powerbomb position DDT) on Phoenix,
gave Rainman a facebuster, and knocked Phoenix for a loop with a discus
lariat.

It broke into a four-way. Rainman planted Styles with the Spinesplitta (Sky
High) and they battled on the outside. Jacobs did a superplex on Phoenix that
left them flat on the mat, each with one arm on the other guy. Out came
Wildside Senior Official, Andrew Thomas, to join ref Speedy Nelson in making
simultaneous three counts. Nelson signified that Jacobs was the winner, while
Thomas raised the hand of Phoenix. Phoenix punched Nelson. Jacobs KOed
Thomas. Jacobs clotheslined Phoenix over the top to clear the ring. Styles
and Jacobs grabbed their belts. Jacobs challenged Phoenix to a singles match
at the next TV taping. "When I finish with you, I WILL lay some lumber.