Indy News #6: May 20

Larry Goodman sent this in:

Showtime All-Star Wrestling
Airing on May 9, 2009 on Comcast 74 in Nashville & WKRP in Lebanon, Tn
Taped on March 13, 2009 at the SAW Mill in Millersville, Tn

LAST WEEK?Flash Flanagan pins Ric Santel with the springboard leg drop?Chase Stevens pins Andy Douglas with the fisherman suplex.

Michael Graham and Reno Riggins opened from the interview area with the announcement that this episode marked the one year anniversary of Showtime. Reno explained that SAW started as a regional promotion (Southern All-Star) and then obtained international syndication as Showtime. Reno sent a shout out to the viewers in Israel, England and Turkey. Among the matches signed by Commissioner Freddie Morton for this week: a rematch between Arrick Andrews and the SAW International Champion Kid Kash.

1 ? JESSE EMERSON vs. JON MICHAEL W0RTHINGTON

Reno said Worthington showed his ass by interrupting Emerson’s interview time last week, and Emerson was a dangerous man coming off his war with Sigmon. Ref Jess Fields never called for the bell. Worthington was on the run in the early going and tried to take advantage of Emerson’s aggressiveness. Emerson leveled Worthington with a lariat and applied a punishing headlock. We learned that Worthington’s attorneys had obtained an injunction preventing SAW from airing the footage of him playing man servant to TJ Harley. Back and forth featuring some stiff chops and slap to the ear by Emerson. Worthington got one near fall after Emerson ate it on a missed Stinger splash and another with a kneelift-neckbreaker combo. Worthington took Emerson down with a sleeper hold and grapevined the leg. Emerson broke it with a jawbreaker that left both men down. Worthington got the upper hand and posed for the camera. Emerson popped up, tapped Worthington on the shoulder and pounded his face. Emerson went for the Alabama Slam. Blocked by Worthington. Emerson nailed Worthington with a pair of standing dropkicks and a lariat to take him over the top. Emerson tried for a vertical suplex back to the inside, but Worthington gave him a hotshot and did a slingshot cover with his feet on the middle rope.

WINNER: Worthington in 8:00. Good match. Solid back and forth action that really picked up steam towards the end. Emerson has fire once the bell rings. His facial expressions have improved 1000%.

Graham and Riggins revealed that next week’s show would feature a barbed wire match: Marc Anthony vs. Gary Valiant.

Riddle me this. Riddle me that. Who’s afraid of a little barbed wire match?

Anthony was sitting on the floor in a dimly lit room clutching at a strand of barbed wire. It was attached to a king-sized spool of wire next to him.

If it is you, Prince Valiant that is not afraid. Please my friend, come to the ring and we shall play, for you are the one that introduced this cold piece of steel, but it is I, Marc Anthony, who shall have the fun and the thrills. And as your nation peers into the battle that rages between you and I, you will be able to hear, Prince Valiant, the little kids that cry, the old women that weep as they turn their heads away. For I?m going to take this barbed wire and rake it across your face, and as your skin tears from the very bone, and blood is everywhere, everyone will know the great prince put up yet another fight. But you will come short my friend, and you shall lost this battle on that night.

2 ? J.T. STAHR (with Derrick King) vs. VORDELL WALKER

Stahr hid out next to the entrance ramp with a sneak attack that didn?t much faze Walker, who hammered Stahr with forearm shots. Stahr oversold an Irish whip with a flip over the ropes. He ran along the apron and went up top to take the press slam ala Flair. Walker busted out the bionic elbows. As Walker administered a beating, King explained that Sister O?Feelyah’s absence from ringside was due to her being in Memphis working on a big surprise. Stahr put on the breaks to avoid Walker’s up and over maneuver and clubbed him from behind. Stahr unleashed a wicked attack to the head and neck of Walker. Stahr hit a cravate neckbreaker that was pure gold. Stahr locked in a grounded sleeper. Walker rolled away from an elbow drop and roared back with a vengeance. Walker hit a swinging neckbreaker for a near fall. Stahr countered a step up kick with a unique capture slam for a near fall. They did the quick back and forth pin attempts. Walker knocked Stahr for a loop with an enzuigiri. Time for the STO but King interfered. Walker cut Stahr off with a belly to belly overhead suplex and finished him with the STO clean in the middle.

WINNER: Walker in 6:45 with the STO. An uneven match. No doubt they?re two of the best pure athletes in SAW. Some of stuff they did looked awesome, but a few things didn?t gel well at all. I didn’t need to see sleeper holds two matches in a row.

The A-Team was at ringside with Dan Masters. Paul Adams conceded that last week was not good. He said the rematch between Douglas and Stevens should have never happened. A highly emotional Douglas gave Stevens credit for fighting hard.

I don?t know if you?ve been hanging out with A-Rod. Nobody but NOBODY kicks out of the Natural Selection.

Douglas said he was going to lose it. He proceeded to rip off his dress shirt and threaten to kill Stevens if he dared to come back to saw before storming off. Adams said he was going to kick it up a notch by turning it over to Santel. Santel huffed and puffed and was too enraged to say anything. Adams said Santel was beside himself. Adams moved on to next week when his ?Problem Solver? David Young would take on Hammerjack. Adams said Hammerjack stood out there with A-Team for a year straight, and it was like putting three diamonds next to a big steaming pile of turd. Adams said Hammerjack’s new love affair with the fans would come to an end next week. Young said the reason the fans loved Hammerjack was because he was like them. ?He’s nothin? but a grits sloppin?, turnip green eatin?, nothin? happening piece of trash. That boy was born the son of a trailer park owner.? Young said Hammerjack got to live the American Dream for one year hanging out in the clubs with A-Team, but that was only because he didn?t like carrying his own bag and they needed somebody to change the tire in case of a flat. Masters objected to the disparaging remarks about the paying customers. ?It doesn?t matter what couch they scrounge through to get their loose change to come in here and cheer for Hammerjack for next week,? said Adams. He ripped on the rotund females in the front row, and said Young would headbutt them if they weren?t careful. Adams asked Santel if he had anything else to say. Santel did more heavy breathing, but was still at a loss for words.

The crowd was on their feet for the entrance of Arrick Andrews. Graham said Andrews had already pinned Kash, but lost due to use of the title belt, although it was Kash that introduced it as a weapon. Riggins called it one of the best matches he had ever witnessed in SAW. Kid Kash sauntered out to the ring glaring at the crowd.

3 ? SAW International Title Match: Champion KID KASH vs. ARRICK ?The Dragon? ANDREWS

Kash immediately left the ring to get into it with the fans. Riggins joked that Kash should get into politics because he had such a great way with people. Graham said his sitdown interview with Kash was a nerve wracking experience. Back inside the ring, Kash adjusted his equipment and finally we?re ready for action. Kash shot for a single leg, missed, and took another time out. Fans started up a ?chicken? chant. Back inside, Kash got the single leg takedown. Kash reversed Andrews? reversal into a rear naked choke. Andrews slipped out of it, and they scrambled until Kash went for the ropes. Kash complained about Andrews being greased up, and Reno brought up one his former opponents, ?Iron? Mike Sharpe (as opposed to the recent George St. Pierre/B.J. Penn controversy). Kash stunned Andrews with a boot to the gut and an elbow to thte base of the neck to set up a cranking side headlock. Back from the commercial break, Kash ate a pair of double boots charging in. Riggins said Kash was on queer street. Andrews nailed Kash with a spinning heel kick that left both men down. Kash looked completely out of it as he pulled himself up using the ropes. With his left arm hanging limp at his side, Andrews pounded Kash with rights. Andrews hit a spinning neckbreaker and went for the cover using only the one good arm, and Kash got his feet in the ropes. Kash dropped Andrews with a jawbreaker and signaled for the brainbuster. Andrews blocked it. A series of reversals saw Kash spilled out of the ring. Kash scooped up the belt on his way to the back. Andrews decked him on the ramp and dished out punishment before tossing Kash back into the ring just before Senior Official Kurt Herron’s counted 10. With the champion flat on his back, Herron raised Kash’s hand and placed the belt across his belly.

WINNER: Kash in 8:00 via count out. I loved the image of Kash beating Andrews for the second consecutive time while lying flat on his back. The scramble on the mat made for a great opening. Andrews sold the arm well. Too bad whatever dastardly things Kash did to it got edited out.

CLOSING THOUGHTS: This was a strong show across the board without any truly bad segments and another excellent main event. It exemplified just how much the overall quality of the wrestling in SAW has improved over the last year. SAW always had interesting storylines, but those early show were badly lacking in depth when it came to the wrestling end. There were a few relatively minor negatives like the iffy moments in Walker/Stahr and the lack of a promo from Boogie to build the barbed wire match. Granted, Anthony’s vignette blew away anything Valiant could have possibly done. As much as I liked the one Anthony did last week, I was in awe of this one. If there was such a thing as a money promo in SAW, this was it…The A-Team segment was fun. They absolutely did the right thing by making Stevens kicking out of the Natural Selection into a colossal deal. Santel’s speechless state was an inspired choice?Kudos to SAW for finally getting the graphic and the announcing consistent on Jon Michael Worthington?Thumbs down for the annoying clicking noise in the audio of all the matches. It was in 87 as well due to a technical problem at the March 13 taping…The lack of consistent officiating really comes back to haunt SAW when they do a count out finish. Kash twice left the ring early in the match. The first time Herron counted to five and stopped. The second time he didn’t count at all.

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