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Wrestling
UWC TV Taping on-site report (7/15/2003)
Posted by Jared "JHawk" Hawkins on Jul 17, 2003, 10:58
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UWC TV Taping on-site report (7/15/2003)
by Jared "JHawk" Hawkins
Ohio's United Wrestling Council got through a not-so-smooth TV taping in Barberton, Ohio, last Tuesday, and their first broadcast on Sunday wasn't very smooth either. My friend John was nice enough to send me the tape, and it's certainly passable for such a small promotion, but there are still some things that need worked on. Never mind that there's only so good the show can look the way the Shamrock Nite Club's lighting is set up, but then the sound was subpar, so you've got an echo in the background that makes it damn near impossible to figure out what's being said.
This week, they made some attempts to get the ring lighting to be a bit brighter, they worked with the sound, and they got a ring that could actually stay in one piece the entire night. But were they able to improve upon the in-ring action?
As always, there are spoilers galore, so if you have access to the show when it airs Sundays at noon on channel 29 in Akron and 35 in Cleveland and want to be surprised, hit the back button now.
Dark Match: The Purple Hooter vs. Animal
There was actually a "Hooter" chant breaking out before the match. Short but sweet, as Animal simply outpowered the Hooter. The finish came when Animal went for a side slam, Hooter tried to reverse it into a headscissors, but Animal further countered it into a side slam on the other side for the pin at 1:18. Neat finish.
Dark Match: ??? vs. ???
These were the same two guys who wrestled each other in the second dark match last week, and they still didn't bother announcing their names to the crowd. This time they actually got to work their full match since the ring broke
last week, and they did some pretty decent work before the spear finishes it in 5:23.
Dark Match: Wilbur Whitlock and Cousin Cooter vs. The Suicide Kid and Danny Boy
This is Cousin Cooter's pro debut. The Suicide Kid was Whitlock's opponent last week in their dark match. The fans in Barberton hate Whitlock, and thus they hated Cooter by default. Another pretty decent matchup, which Whitlock wins by forcing Danny Boy to tap to a combination full nelson/STF in 6:38.
We now take an intermission as we get ready for the actual taping.
Opening Interview
UWC President Bo Smirnow is out to confront "The Champ" John Potok, as Potok attacked Tack in the parking lot last week. Potok says that there's no possible way Tack can defend the UWC Heavyweight Title due to his injuries, so he wants to be awarded the title by forfeit. Smirnow quickly mentions the 30-day rule, but it turns out Tack is healthy and in attendance after all. Potok immediately tries to back out, claiming he's just had shoulder surgery and can't wrestle singles yet. Out comes
Justin Dreams with his mailbox, and he wants to read some fan mail, but Smirnow interrupts and signs a new main event for tonight: Potok and Dreams vs. Tack and Phattie Dattie. A bait-and-switch in the second show might not be the smartest thing to do, but the crowd was into this segment.
Red Spider vs. "Timebomb" Fred Potok
Timebomb showed a lot of sportsmanship, shaking hands whenever possible and getting off of three counts in order to "give the rookie a chance". Timebomb finally gets a submission with a cobra
clutch in 3:29, but "Your Rolemodel" Ric Lieb comes in through the crowd with his silver platter and levels Timebomb as he turns around.
After a break, Dan Mason interviews Lieb and the rest of The Four Henchmen about the previous attack, when Timebomb comes in to challenge Lieb for a match next week. Lieb says Timebomb's not worth his time and asks the other Henchmen if they want him. Triple AAA and
Vinn Wilder both say he's not worth their time, but Rip Cripple decides that since the show is called "Ripped" and therefore is named after him, he'll take the match. So next week, it's "Timebomb" Fred Potok
vs. Rip Cripple, and should Potok win, he'll get Lieb the following week.
Another break, and this time it's time for Mikey Showtime to do an interview. He's not out here to talk shit about anybody. He merely wants a chance to find a partner to reform Feature Presentation. In comes President Smirnow to tell Showtime to find a partner, because he's
got a tag match against Bret Myers and Atlantis later tonight.
Big Taggle (?) Everwood vs. Virus
I've probably got that first name wrong and I forgot to ask the ring announcer to clarify that for me after the show, so my apologies if I completely missed that one. Short match, as they attempt to do some high-flying stuff
despite the low ceiling, and I nearly got two wrestlers right in my lap as a result. Virus counters an electric chair into an inverted rana for the pin at 2:17.
We get an interview with Hardcore Extreme Champion Chef Meeker, who cuts what looked like a traditional self-promotion promo that I couldn't hear too well over the loud "Meeker" chant throughout the promo.
"Mr. UWC" Atlantis and "High Impact" Bret Myers vs. Mikey Showtime and Wilbur Whitlock
A pretty solid matchup, as Whitlock and Myers keep Myers isolated for several minutes before Myers can make the hot tag to Atlantis. The finish came after Whitlock accidentally knocked Showtime off the apron. Whitlock
tried to apologize, but turned around into Atlantis' front slam, which was followed by Myers hitting a handspring corkscrew senton for the pin at 5:29. Shamrock and Whitlock argued a bit after a match. This was supposed to get Showtime over as a heel, but that crowd hated Whitlock. I'm confused as to how Showtime is sort of feuding with a heel Justin Dreams and yet is still supposed to get booed by the crowd at all.
TV Main Event: "The Champ" John Potok and Justin Dreams (UWC Television Champion) vs. Phattie Dattie and "The Daredevil of Extreme" Tack (UWC Heavyweight Champion)
An excellent match for free TV. Dreams gets an early near fall, and the referee actually starts yelling at me when I try to claim it was a three count. Potok and Dreams kept Phattie Dattie in the ring for at least six or seven minutes, using heel tactics whenever possible and drawing Tack into the ring to allow for the double teaming. Tack finally makes the hot tag, and pretty soon the match breaks down to Tack and Potok brawling on the floor while Dreams and Dattie work in the ring. Out comes Mikey Showtime as Dreams goes for a slam, and he dropkicks Dattie's back, which causes Dattie to fall on top of Dreams for the pin at 12:38.
The taping's over, but as always, the paying customers get some post-taping action.
Dark Match: The Hidden Dragons vs. The Shadows of Darkness (UWC Tag Team Champions--w/"Sex Symbol" Keith Young and Salena)
Still no names for the Hidden Dragons this week. By the way, don't cheer the champions because they'll yell at you more than they will the people who aren't cheering them. I'm all for acting like a heel, but damn. Decent but standard tag team match, which the champions win following a three kick combo at 4:23.
Final Dark Match: "Your Rolemodel" Ric Lieb and "Black Superman" Vinn Wilder vs. Chef Meeker (UWC Hardcore Extreme Champion) and Mike Smiley
You remember how I talked about the low ceiling at Shamrock Nite Club last week? Wilder's head nearly hits it when he's just standing in the ring. A decent tag match, with Meeker outpowering Lieb early. Wilder tags in, and they run through the usual super heavyweight stalemate spots. Eventually Smiley, making his pro debut and aptly named with his smiley face pajama pants on, gets caught as the face-in-peril. The finish comes when Lieb hits Smiley with the 4H, then tags in Wilder, who hits the Black Kryptonite
(a sambo suplex with a Rock Bottom finish) for the one-foot pin at 7:12. Wilder even asks for a four count instead of a three count to win it.
Overall, this was a much better effort all around. They put more of an emphasis on having decent matches for the TV portion of the card, the guys they have in training were actually able to work without worrying about the ring breaking on them, and they had a pretty hot crowd to keep the energy level up. And they're actually willing to set matches up a week or two in advance, which is actually a good tactic for making people want to tune in every week. They still need to have actual ring introductions for the dark matches, which I'm told they're going to start doing next week, and they still need to polish up on how much downtime they have between segments (they went almost ten minutes with nothing happening at one point), but if
they can get some of those kinks worked out, this could work out very well for them.
I'll be back tonight for SmackDown. Until then,
e-mail me or check out the archives.
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