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Wrestling
UWC TV Taping On-Site Report (9/30/2003)
Posted by Jared "JHawk" Hawkins on Oct 1, 2003, 21:37
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UWC TV Taping On-Site Report (September 30, 2003)
by Jared "JHawk" Hawkins
Can you believe we're three-quarters of the way through the year already?
Do any of you care?
Another Tuesday night has come and gone, and that leads us to another taping of UWC Ripped from the Shamrock Nite Club in Barberton, Ohio. We're now about four weeks away from this year's Extreme Halloween event on November 1, and hopefully we're starting to flesh out the lineup a little bit.
One brief note I need to mention: a large portion of the stuff that doesn't make sense at these tapings is sorted out by watching the actual show, as they do tape a number of things backstage. I still don't get trying to turn Wilbur Whitlock face though.
And since I got distracted last night and thus didn't get to this until after working a nine hour shift on Wednesday, this probably isn't going to be anywhere near as detailed as I was originally intending. That and I can't actually read my own notes because my handwriting's atrocious.
Let's begin, shall we?
Dark Match: Dios Salvador vs. Tyson Bishop
This is the third straight week these guys have been in a dark match, and the third straight week they've put on a pretty good match. Some solid back and forth action (and Salvador, presumably the face, doing more cheating than Bishop) before Bishop hits the Michinoku Driver for the pin at 5:58.
Dark Match: Psycho vs. Wrecking Ball
Psycho has foregone the ICP facepaint for a Jason-espue mask. It's a much better look. Wrecking Ball actually controls most of the match but is pinned by Psycho following a swinging neckbreaker in 2:05.
Non-Title Dark Match: "Mardi Gras" Mike Hercum vs. The Purple Hooter (Hardcore Extreme Champion)
So the Hardcore Title is a 24/7 title...but it can't be defended in a tag team match...or against another champion...and you can have non-title matches. Hmm. Mardi Gras and Hooter do a nice rope-running spot with leapfrogs early, but Hooter drinks some purple juice and gets the Choke Slam for the pin in 1:57.
It's time to start the actual taping, and it's time for Hollywood to interview "The Champ" John Potok. The Champ is upset at Bret Myers for getting involved in his title match with Tack last week, and sure enough, here comes "High Impact" Bret Myers for a rebuttal. The ensuing argument leads to...
"The Champ" John Potok vs. "High Impact" Bret Myers
Decent match until the obligatory ref bump. The Champ tries to take advantage by tying Myers in the ropes, and he goes for a baseball bat shot, but UWC President Bo Smirnow returns from his hospitalization (and subsequent "doctor ordered" trip to Las Vegas) to stop it. No closing bell, and therefore no decision, call it 4:25. Potok is irate, so Smirnow asks Potok if he'd like a baseball bat on a pole match at Extreme Halloween on November 1. Potok agrees thinking it's vs. Smirnow, but Smirnow announces it will be The Champ taking on his brother, "Timebomb" Fred Potok, who comes to the ring wielding a bat of his own.
One fall: Super Sydal vs. "Superstar" Justin Dreams
Dreams reads his fan mail, which says the he's won every title except the Heavyweight Title, so what's next? The answer, of course, is the Heavyweight Title. The letter also says Dreams needs his ass kicked, but Dreams notes that nobody in attendance can actually do that. Sydal tries though, and actually controls a fair portion of the match, but Dreams takes Sydal down with an inverted DDT for the pin at 3:38.
Despite Keith Kennedy telling me not to mention the commercial break insult-fest in these articles (and it starts looking like a Dean Martin Celebrity Roast most weeks), I was already planning on starting a feature called the "Asshole Line of the Week". And since using just one line still leaves about 20 minutes worth of material lost forever, I'm doing it anyway. Sorry Keith. Anywya, this week it goes to Dan Mason, for responding to a chant of "Comb your hair" with "Wash your snatch. We can smell it all the way back here. I've got two words for you. Summer's Eve. Look into it."
This leads directly into this week's edition of A Tastin' of the Mason, and Mason's special guests are The Inner Circle, led by Sex Symbol Keith Young. They discuss the Suicide Freefall Match for Extreme Halloween in detail before Atlantis, John Potok, Bret Myers, Virus, and "Time Bomb" all make their way to the ring for a unscheduled brawl.
One fall for the UWC TV Title: "Happy" Mike Smiley vs. Phattie Dattie (champion)
The match never gets underway, as "Your Rolemodel" Ric Lieb and Rip Cripple beat him down with a platter. As the champion gets taken to the back, Lieb grabs the stick and says Phattie Dattie is feeling under the weather and won't be able to compete tonight, so he'll defend the title in his place since he'll be the champion after November 1 anyway.
One fall "for the UWC TV Title": "Happy" Mike Smiley vs. "Your Rolemodel" Ric Lieb (w/Rip Cripple)
If you thought this was going to be a wrestling clinic filled with extended periods of mat wrestling, then you haven't been paying too much attention to Mike Smiley matches. Lieb basically dominates from the outset before hitting the 4H, then he locks in the Rolemodel Clutch for the submission at 3:20.
Hollywood thinks he's going to interview Jamie Starr and "The Russian Butcher" Sirob Draga, but gets shoved out of the way before the interview ever gets started. That gets a face pop. Heh. Starr tells the crowd they should be proud of the USA and hands an American flag to the referee...and Draga knocks the referee down with the Siberian Express (or, for you who watch nothing other than WWE, a gore). Starr then breaks the flag over his knee. Wow, he can break a thin stick. Impressive. Much better segment for these two all-around though.
TV Main Event for the UWC Tag Team Championship: Dios Salvador and Tyson Bishop vs. The Shadows of Darkness (champions--w/Sex Symbol Keith Young/Selena)
The live crowd seemed rather confused as to why two guys who wrestled each other in a dark match were going for tag team gold at the end of the show. Um...we weren't supposed to remember that, guys. Oh well. A decent match that was more of a vehicle for the champions than anything else, as the champions hit their three kick combo on Salvador, enabling Unknown to get the pin at 4:30. You know, maybe this is where the mass run-ins I wrote about during A Tastin' of the Mason came in. I forgot to write that down. Not that I could have read it anyway. *sigh* I really need to start doing these recaps immediately after the show.
And that concludes this week's TV taping.
This week, the show had a much better flow to it than it did last week. I didn't need to worry about waiting for some backstage bit to air before I could figure out why a match was signed. Things made a lot more sense and were more cohesive to last week's show. I'd still like to see a bit more wrestling at these shows, but if they keep doing a nice job with the buildup, they should be able to deliver with Extreme Halloween.
I'm back tomorrow with SmackDown, and back next week with another UWC TV taping. In the meantime, JHawk likes the feedback, so send it along.
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