The only thing they were lacking was a supportive local fanbase, unfortunately. I counted as many as 77 fans and 63 were left by the main event. Nearly every wrestler on the card was from 3 to 12 hours away and it was a WWE Pay per view night so their back was against the wall as far as finding fans to come out and support the event. I enjoyed all but one of the matches and was excited to see handfuls of guys that I'd never seen in person or hadn't seen in a while.
I didn't take notes so there goes the accuracy of the results, right? I may be off with the order of a couple of these.
Hall & Nash took pictures and signed autographs for maybe a dozen fans and then they were gone when the action began.
1) Hot Boiz International d. Tracy Smothers, Arik Royal, and Blake Christian
Boiz were effectively obnoxious. They had a Beavis & Butthead-esque manager that carried a stuffed sheep toy. Royal and Christian were pretty exciting replacement partners to team up with Tracy Smothers, who wasn't given a microphone here. Smothers was the only "local" guy on this whole event. He got a decent reception by a crowd that didn't get real rowdy about anything all night. I was told the venue was telling people to stop yelling at the wrestlers or they would be kicked out. Tracy grabbed the log that he carries to the ring and decked the manager but got rolled up for what seemed like an 8 count.
2) The Rep d. The Rejects to retain the Capitol Wrestling Tag Team titles
It was announced that Capitol championship matches are contested under referee's discretion rules. That was music to the ears of The Rejects, who always come to fight. These guys brawled around the outside with all sorts of weapons. A female fan got involved in the action with some of the best fan chops I've ever seen. I was told the venue threatened to shut the show down at this point due to the fan making contact with the wrestlers. The Rejects introduced a door but they'd both end up going through it as the impressive REP team retained.
A muscled up douchey looking guy came to the ring in a singlet that said "Jersey Muscle" and asked the fans if they wanted a fight....which we just saw...he said he came to challenge Homicide for the Capitol Wrestling Championship and he wasn't going to wait all night. Out came Homicide.
3) Homicide d. Steve Gibki to retain his championship.
Gibki had a good showing here. He has a lot of potential and would have gotten a much bigger reaction throughout the match had people been familiar with him(and not assumed he was doing a Jersey Shore gimmick). Homicide is still working hard. This match was somewhat awkward reaction wise because everyone wanted to cheer Homicide but after a few minutes into the match realized that he didn't want or appreciate the cheers. Crowd got behind Gibki and Homicide took half a dozen shortcuts and pinned him with a roll up and hand full of tights.
4) Sonny Kiss d. Joe Black
Black has a legitimacy factor to him that makes him hard to truly hate. He's a brick house. He disrespected Kiss to start things off though and we were treated to Kiss battling back with spectacular agility and athleticism. This was my first time seeing Kiss in person and I was really impressed. Kiss wins with a sunset flip roll up pin. Black was in disbelief.
5)Women's Champion Ariela Nyx, The Meadowlands Monster, and Zac Amico d. Roni Nicole & Chuck Payne.
Nyx, Monster, Amico, and two others came to the ring and rambled for several minutes trying to insult people. I didn't get anything out of the promo nor the match. Lots of size here though as Monster and Payne were both big enough to step over the top rope. Amico is a 300+lbs guy in overalls and giant spiky hair. I'm not sure why it was 3 vs 2. Nicole & Payne came up short but were able to exact some revenge on several members of the opposition until the giant Meadowlands Monster ran them off. The only thing on the card that I didn't personally enjoy. They all worked hard but I'm not sure the crowd could have been worked at this point.
6) The Ugly Ducklings & Colby Corino(REUNITED!), and Special K(Slim J & Azrieal) d. Jimmy Rave, Chip Day, Murder One, HC Loc, and Cory Kastle.
Not every day that you see 10 man tags and certainly not with this amount of talent. There was constant action throughout this match with tons of fun spots along with plenty of punishment from Rave and his crew. Ducklings hit many of their signature maneuvers, Corino looked great here, and Special K may want to change their names to The Fountain of Youth. I'm pretty sure these guys are actually getting younger. Day had some nice striking offense, Murder One brought the power, Rave strategized and picked his spots, the veteran HC Loc slugged it out, and Kastle(who was the only guy I was not familiar with going into this match) played spoiler several times. The fan favorites prevailed.
After the match, Ghost Shadow sneak attacked both members of Special K, who were already feeling the effects of the previous match. Deranged made the save for his stable mates. They'd go in and come right back out for the next match...
7) Ghost Shadow d. Black Zemis, Deranged, and Gringo Loco to win the vacant Freestyle Championship.
Another match with constant action. Deranged went straight for Shadow. I was insanely impressed with Gringo Loco. This was my first time seeing him in person. He's very talented and a lot of fun. These cruiserweights busted out the dives and explosive offense, mixed with some Lucha fun. Shadow capitalized on Deranged to become the champion.
8) Paul Jordane(the "Interim TV Champion") & Anthony Gangone d. Jake Hager(fka Jack Swagger) & Darius Carter
Jordane matched Hager in size and athleticism. Gangone was a guy that I was seeing for the first time but he very much reminded me of Sal Rinuaro(in a really good way). Carter was arrogant for much of the match and then got several, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" pleas from Hager when Jordane and Gangone got their offense going. Finish saw Jordane pin Hager clean in the middle of the ring. After the match, Carter mouthed off to Hager - who made quick work of him to send everyone home.
Anthony DiPippo, the representative for Wrestling For Innocence, got in the ring and thanked everyone for coming out. He's devoting his life now to helping people who are wrongfully convicted, as he was actually incarcerated for almost 20 years for a crime he didn't commit. The event was done in Nashville to bring attention to the case of Adam Braseel, who actually WAS released and was in attendance with friends and family after 12 years of being wrongfully convicted. There were several others that were recognized in the building who had also been exonerated, so that was pretty neat to see them all coming together to raise awareness.
I know the event wasn't what they wanted financially but they got some good media coverage through the local newspapers and radio stations to help raise awareness for Wrestling For Innocence and for Adam Braseel, whose family has spent almost $200,000 to fight for his innocence. He continues to fight for a new trial, as he was released by accepting a lesser charge. There is a Facebook group set up at Help Free Adam Braseel and FreeAdamBraseel.org if you'd like to read more or donate.
Thanks for reading!
Scott Hensley
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