neonHyde
Nothing More, Nothing Less.
Live report from the Reilly Center (14 Nov 08)
ST BONAVENTURE, NY - The Second Tour came to a chaotic climax in the Reilly Center last night as the showpiece MVP Battle Royal descended into unbridled disorder.
Typically for the Second Tour, it had been a mixed evening. A creditable three thousand seats were filled but that still left the arena half-empty, something clearly reflected in the self-conscious lack of crowd participation that threatened to rob the show of the climactic excitement to which the touring roster had aimed to build. This righted itself later on but for the wrong reasons, which we'll get to later. First up on the show we saw a massive upset. Dr. Giggles has made a career of being a perennial loser; his record stood at 0-8 before tonight. But Dallas Steele, who had looked so promising earlier in the tour, seems to have performed a career one-eighty and might as well have been absent from the ring such was the half-heartedness of his offense. Giggles did his best to throw the match, but when Steele botched a powerbomb and tumbled onto his back with the Doctor riding his chest, the referee made the three-count before either man knew what had happened, and the fans gave Giggles a spontaneous standing ovation for his first ever victory.
Sloppy ring work can only hide behind comedy characters for so long, though, and the crowd clearly wanted something to get their teeth into. They would be disappointed. Cary Turkington has had a very mixed time of it in Just Wrestling and fans in the front row last night complained that they could smell the alcohol on his breath as he came down to the ring. Turkington was white-faced, but it wasn't nerves making him ill. He is sure to face stern disciplinary action from booker Tim Shipley for showing up for his match in no state to compete. But perhaps his comprehensive dismantling by an again impressive Aaron Nothings will have been enough. It was a shame for Nothings that he did not have an opponent better able to sell his strengths, as he is one of the breakout stars of this tour. His win was applauded and fans who had predicted him for MVP at the end of the night were quietly confident.
Andy Murray then came to the ring for his anticipated match with Jesse Jamester. But Jamester's music came and went without his arrival. The fans, sick of the world star's complacent attitude to his Just Wrestling commitments throughout this tour, began to boo. Eventually Murray's opponent did emerge, but it wasn't Jesse Jamester. In a shock return from his training in Japan, Max Danger, one of the most solid performers from the Inaugural Tour, headed out to the ring with a purpose written all over his face. Murray's, conversely, fell. Unprepared for the switch of opponent, and facing a veteran who knows the game better than the Scottish King of Cool (being GCW hot property notwithstanding), Murray's game was weak and easily countered by The Danger Man. In eight minutes, Danger wrapped up a very creditable return with the Dangerous III to warm applause.
However, Danger wasn't happy to leave it at that, and glowered out at the fans who soon quietened. Having been given a microphone to address the audience, he spoke not of his return, but of his disgust at the number of empty seats staring back at him. Recalling his days wrestling in the big leagues, Danger said that Just Wrestling would never be credible with a one-handed Champion. This drew fiercely protective support for Just Wrestling Champion Brock Shepherd. Danger then talked briefly of his time in Japan, saying that he had been following Just online but was forced to give up when he had not even heard of half the roster. His return, he said, was to steady the ship, but the heat that was engulfing him by the time he was done talking suggests that he may only be rocking it even further.
Maynard Crane and Buck Fledger were next up. Fledger has been a disappointment on this tour compared to his promising early showings, and amid rumours that he plans to drop out of pro wrestling to study full-time at university, it was clear that his head was not in it. Crane is not the sort of opponent you want to face when you cannot focus on the task at hand, and the tall all-rounder worked at Fledger before delivering the coup de grace apparently to Fledger's relief. Fledger has openly been "in it for the money" and one gets the feeling Shipley will have to have a word with him if he is ever to realise his potential.
This brought us to our semi-main event, a well-anticipated first title defence for Brock Shepherd. His opponent was the ever-impressive Chris Vallette, who built his reputation on being the "boy made good". But in the ring last night it was a clear case of men against boys. To Vallette's credit, he took what Shepherd threw at him and kept getting back up. But it was never going to be his night, and Shepherd, perhaps fired up by the insults from Max Danger earlier in the night, was rampant. He finished things up after twelve minutes and his victory had never looked in doubt.
At last we came to the Battle Royal. There were sixteen entrants in all; neither Judas Crippen nor the Illustrious Face-Eater entered, but Max Danger, fresh from his return victory, was in - and seemed to have a decent outside chance for the win.
From the beginning things were far from civilised. ICE and Johnny Vivacious resorted to underhand means in attempting to team up on Myles Jake, the former raking the eyes and the latter giving Jake a shot in the REGIONS~! with the referee unsighted, things not appreciated by Shepherd who clotheslined ICE over the top rope, swung around, and gave Vivacious the same treatment. An unruly Dallas Steele charged Shepherd at the ropes but the Champion showed great awareness to duck down and as Steele attempted to right his balance halfway over the top rope, Aaron Nothings finished him with a sumptuous superkick. In the opposite corner, Andy Murray had control of Cary Turkington, but as he bent to bring him up from the mat, the Scottish King of Cool took a punch in the ass from Dr. Giggles. Offended more than hurt, Murray whirled around and Turkington flung a boot in between his legs. With his eyes watering, Murray was unable to prevent Fathom scooping him up and dumping him unceremoniously out.
Renewing earlier hostilities, Buck Fledger was trying to redeem himself against Maynard Crane, but in coming off the ropes was taken in a gorilla press by the 6'7"er. The next Fledger saw of his aggressor was when he pulled his face from the ringside floor minutes later. By this time, things had begun to collapse. When Fathom slid out of the ring under the bottom rope, security tried to escort him away, something he hotly contested since he hadn't gone over the top rope. Once his continued participation was approved Fathom grabbed one of the many spare chairs at ringside, packing it up and trying to climb back into the ring, but a roaring baseball slide from Turk slammed the chair right into Fathom's face to a big reaction from the crowd. Turk followed through and began to beat on Fathom at ringside. Meanwhile Dr. Giggles had also left the ring to search out a set of surgical instruments he had concealed beneath the ring. The crowd began to whip themselves into a frenzy.
Myles Jake was fighting Chris Vallette, and had him backed against the ropes trying to push him up and over. Vallette had a good hold on the ropes and Jake, becoming frustrated, backed up to charge with more power. At this point, Turk leapt onto the apron from ringside and swung a steel chair hard against the back of Vallette's head. Vallette dropped like a stone and Jake careered into the chair, clattering against Turk who flew several feet to land in a heap. A moment later, Cary Turkington rolled into a bundle next to him having received a clever Ivor Avalon hiptoss over the top. Dr. Giggles approached to begin his unique brand of resuscitation but was sent flying by a big spear from Fathom. We had four bodies sprawled across the arena floor, three of which were still legal participants in the match.
In the ring, Avalon hit a snap DDT on Myles Jake - big move, big mistake, as Brock Shepherd swooped in with Avalon off his guard to dump him over the top. Nothings looked to follow up and eliminate the Champion but Shepherd held him off. Max Danger began to occupy himself in disposing of the fallen bodies; Jake was sent to the floor, Vallette was going the same way until Fathom emerged from beneath the ring with a ladder and hurled it in from ringside to take out the feet of both men. He grabbed a chair and leapt in himself. The officials were panicking about the weapons in the ring but it would only get worse as Turk sortied a long pole from beneath the ring before his re-entry. Crane, Nothings and Shepherd fell to swings on Fathom's ladder and then he and Turk were facing off in a duel, ladder versus pole.
Then the ring collapsed. Turns out Turk had wrenched a pole out that was holding up the structure. Everything fell in on itself towards one corner. The fans were on their feet, yelling and pointing. Fathom was quickest to recover and slammed his ladder horizontally at Turk, who was knocked out over the top rope at the ring's lowest point, rolling onto his feet and looking back in anger at Fathom when he realised what had happened. Dr. Giggles' medical instincts took over and he rushed into the wreckage, ever the hero. He came flying out again, Aaron Nothings not taking too kindly to his rather extreme version of checking for a pulse. Shepherd was on his unsteady feet too and edged down the slope of the canvas towards Crane, who was wrapped around the ringpost, and a second later was flat on the floor outside the ring.
Shipley was down at ringside, concerned about the health of his employees - or perhaps the state of his ring, from which a second loud crack came. The structure was getting progressively destroyed by the weight of the people in it without a crucial supporting pole. He yelled to Max Danger, who was looking at him questioningly, to get things over with. Danger duly obliged by ridding the sorry ring of Chris Vallette. He turned to see the murderous face of Brock Shepherd, whose revenge for Danger's words earlier was a thump to the head that sent Danger tripping over the lowest ropes and to fall flat on his face outside the ring. On his return to the tour he had come fourth.
The MVP was one of Shepherd, Fathom and Nothings. Brock Shepherd looked the consummate Champion, standing tall with chaos around him. Fighting had broken out at ringside between the angry vanquished. Tim Shipley was being accosted by Vallette about the state of the ring. Inside, Nothings tripped Fathom on the downslope, and he fell into Shepherd's arms. Moments later he was hiptossed to the floor. It was between Shepherd and Nothings. In the end it was the challenger who ran out of steam, a bulldog no-sold by Shepherd, who dragged Nothings up and executed a sickening German suplex. Nothings crumpled into a heap on the floor; thankfully the medical staff later declared no damage. Our Champion was also our MVP, a comprehensive statement by Brock Shepherd that nobody in Just Wrestling can touch him right now. Nothings came close; youngsters such as Vallette and Avalon could develop the necessary mentality; an improved Max Danger, who now has a title shot at the next show, may prove stiff competition. Otherwise new blood or a repeat run from Judas Crippen may be the keys to unlocking Shepherd's reign. Standing in the wreckage of what was once a ring, at the end of what truly has been a tour of ups and downs, Brock Shepherd knew last night that though the future may be uncertain, whatever happened he would for sure be at the centre of it.
ST BONAVENTURE, NY - The Second Tour came to a chaotic climax in the Reilly Center last night as the showpiece MVP Battle Royal descended into unbridled disorder.
Typically for the Second Tour, it had been a mixed evening. A creditable three thousand seats were filled but that still left the arena half-empty, something clearly reflected in the self-conscious lack of crowd participation that threatened to rob the show of the climactic excitement to which the touring roster had aimed to build. This righted itself later on but for the wrong reasons, which we'll get to later. First up on the show we saw a massive upset. Dr. Giggles has made a career of being a perennial loser; his record stood at 0-8 before tonight. But Dallas Steele, who had looked so promising earlier in the tour, seems to have performed a career one-eighty and might as well have been absent from the ring such was the half-heartedness of his offense. Giggles did his best to throw the match, but when Steele botched a powerbomb and tumbled onto his back with the Doctor riding his chest, the referee made the three-count before either man knew what had happened, and the fans gave Giggles a spontaneous standing ovation for his first ever victory.
Sloppy ring work can only hide behind comedy characters for so long, though, and the crowd clearly wanted something to get their teeth into. They would be disappointed. Cary Turkington has had a very mixed time of it in Just Wrestling and fans in the front row last night complained that they could smell the alcohol on his breath as he came down to the ring. Turkington was white-faced, but it wasn't nerves making him ill. He is sure to face stern disciplinary action from booker Tim Shipley for showing up for his match in no state to compete. But perhaps his comprehensive dismantling by an again impressive Aaron Nothings will have been enough. It was a shame for Nothings that he did not have an opponent better able to sell his strengths, as he is one of the breakout stars of this tour. His win was applauded and fans who had predicted him for MVP at the end of the night were quietly confident.
Andy Murray then came to the ring for his anticipated match with Jesse Jamester. But Jamester's music came and went without his arrival. The fans, sick of the world star's complacent attitude to his Just Wrestling commitments throughout this tour, began to boo. Eventually Murray's opponent did emerge, but it wasn't Jesse Jamester. In a shock return from his training in Japan, Max Danger, one of the most solid performers from the Inaugural Tour, headed out to the ring with a purpose written all over his face. Murray's, conversely, fell. Unprepared for the switch of opponent, and facing a veteran who knows the game better than the Scottish King of Cool (being GCW hot property notwithstanding), Murray's game was weak and easily countered by The Danger Man. In eight minutes, Danger wrapped up a very creditable return with the Dangerous III to warm applause.
However, Danger wasn't happy to leave it at that, and glowered out at the fans who soon quietened. Having been given a microphone to address the audience, he spoke not of his return, but of his disgust at the number of empty seats staring back at him. Recalling his days wrestling in the big leagues, Danger said that Just Wrestling would never be credible with a one-handed Champion. This drew fiercely protective support for Just Wrestling Champion Brock Shepherd. Danger then talked briefly of his time in Japan, saying that he had been following Just online but was forced to give up when he had not even heard of half the roster. His return, he said, was to steady the ship, but the heat that was engulfing him by the time he was done talking suggests that he may only be rocking it even further.
Maynard Crane and Buck Fledger were next up. Fledger has been a disappointment on this tour compared to his promising early showings, and amid rumours that he plans to drop out of pro wrestling to study full-time at university, it was clear that his head was not in it. Crane is not the sort of opponent you want to face when you cannot focus on the task at hand, and the tall all-rounder worked at Fledger before delivering the coup de grace apparently to Fledger's relief. Fledger has openly been "in it for the money" and one gets the feeling Shipley will have to have a word with him if he is ever to realise his potential.
This brought us to our semi-main event, a well-anticipated first title defence for Brock Shepherd. His opponent was the ever-impressive Chris Vallette, who built his reputation on being the "boy made good". But in the ring last night it was a clear case of men against boys. To Vallette's credit, he took what Shepherd threw at him and kept getting back up. But it was never going to be his night, and Shepherd, perhaps fired up by the insults from Max Danger earlier in the night, was rampant. He finished things up after twelve minutes and his victory had never looked in doubt.
At last we came to the Battle Royal. There were sixteen entrants in all; neither Judas Crippen nor the Illustrious Face-Eater entered, but Max Danger, fresh from his return victory, was in - and seemed to have a decent outside chance for the win.
From the beginning things were far from civilised. ICE and Johnny Vivacious resorted to underhand means in attempting to team up on Myles Jake, the former raking the eyes and the latter giving Jake a shot in the REGIONS~! with the referee unsighted, things not appreciated by Shepherd who clotheslined ICE over the top rope, swung around, and gave Vivacious the same treatment. An unruly Dallas Steele charged Shepherd at the ropes but the Champion showed great awareness to duck down and as Steele attempted to right his balance halfway over the top rope, Aaron Nothings finished him with a sumptuous superkick. In the opposite corner, Andy Murray had control of Cary Turkington, but as he bent to bring him up from the mat, the Scottish King of Cool took a punch in the ass from Dr. Giggles. Offended more than hurt, Murray whirled around and Turkington flung a boot in between his legs. With his eyes watering, Murray was unable to prevent Fathom scooping him up and dumping him unceremoniously out.
Renewing earlier hostilities, Buck Fledger was trying to redeem himself against Maynard Crane, but in coming off the ropes was taken in a gorilla press by the 6'7"er. The next Fledger saw of his aggressor was when he pulled his face from the ringside floor minutes later. By this time, things had begun to collapse. When Fathom slid out of the ring under the bottom rope, security tried to escort him away, something he hotly contested since he hadn't gone over the top rope. Once his continued participation was approved Fathom grabbed one of the many spare chairs at ringside, packing it up and trying to climb back into the ring, but a roaring baseball slide from Turk slammed the chair right into Fathom's face to a big reaction from the crowd. Turk followed through and began to beat on Fathom at ringside. Meanwhile Dr. Giggles had also left the ring to search out a set of surgical instruments he had concealed beneath the ring. The crowd began to whip themselves into a frenzy.
Myles Jake was fighting Chris Vallette, and had him backed against the ropes trying to push him up and over. Vallette had a good hold on the ropes and Jake, becoming frustrated, backed up to charge with more power. At this point, Turk leapt onto the apron from ringside and swung a steel chair hard against the back of Vallette's head. Vallette dropped like a stone and Jake careered into the chair, clattering against Turk who flew several feet to land in a heap. A moment later, Cary Turkington rolled into a bundle next to him having received a clever Ivor Avalon hiptoss over the top. Dr. Giggles approached to begin his unique brand of resuscitation but was sent flying by a big spear from Fathom. We had four bodies sprawled across the arena floor, three of which were still legal participants in the match.
In the ring, Avalon hit a snap DDT on Myles Jake - big move, big mistake, as Brock Shepherd swooped in with Avalon off his guard to dump him over the top. Nothings looked to follow up and eliminate the Champion but Shepherd held him off. Max Danger began to occupy himself in disposing of the fallen bodies; Jake was sent to the floor, Vallette was going the same way until Fathom emerged from beneath the ring with a ladder and hurled it in from ringside to take out the feet of both men. He grabbed a chair and leapt in himself. The officials were panicking about the weapons in the ring but it would only get worse as Turk sortied a long pole from beneath the ring before his re-entry. Crane, Nothings and Shepherd fell to swings on Fathom's ladder and then he and Turk were facing off in a duel, ladder versus pole.
Then the ring collapsed. Turns out Turk had wrenched a pole out that was holding up the structure. Everything fell in on itself towards one corner. The fans were on their feet, yelling and pointing. Fathom was quickest to recover and slammed his ladder horizontally at Turk, who was knocked out over the top rope at the ring's lowest point, rolling onto his feet and looking back in anger at Fathom when he realised what had happened. Dr. Giggles' medical instincts took over and he rushed into the wreckage, ever the hero. He came flying out again, Aaron Nothings not taking too kindly to his rather extreme version of checking for a pulse. Shepherd was on his unsteady feet too and edged down the slope of the canvas towards Crane, who was wrapped around the ringpost, and a second later was flat on the floor outside the ring.
Shipley was down at ringside, concerned about the health of his employees - or perhaps the state of his ring, from which a second loud crack came. The structure was getting progressively destroyed by the weight of the people in it without a crucial supporting pole. He yelled to Max Danger, who was looking at him questioningly, to get things over with. Danger duly obliged by ridding the sorry ring of Chris Vallette. He turned to see the murderous face of Brock Shepherd, whose revenge for Danger's words earlier was a thump to the head that sent Danger tripping over the lowest ropes and to fall flat on his face outside the ring. On his return to the tour he had come fourth.
The MVP was one of Shepherd, Fathom and Nothings. Brock Shepherd looked the consummate Champion, standing tall with chaos around him. Fighting had broken out at ringside between the angry vanquished. Tim Shipley was being accosted by Vallette about the state of the ring. Inside, Nothings tripped Fathom on the downslope, and he fell into Shepherd's arms. Moments later he was hiptossed to the floor. It was between Shepherd and Nothings. In the end it was the challenger who ran out of steam, a bulldog no-sold by Shepherd, who dragged Nothings up and executed a sickening German suplex. Nothings crumpled into a heap on the floor; thankfully the medical staff later declared no damage. Our Champion was also our MVP, a comprehensive statement by Brock Shepherd that nobody in Just Wrestling can touch him right now. Nothings came close; youngsters such as Vallette and Avalon could develop the necessary mentality; an improved Max Danger, who now has a title shot at the next show, may prove stiff competition. Otherwise new blood or a repeat run from Judas Crippen may be the keys to unlocking Shepherd's reign. Standing in the wreckage of what was once a ring, at the end of what truly has been a tour of ups and downs, Brock Shepherd knew last night that though the future may be uncertain, whatever happened he would for sure be at the centre of it.