Courtesy of Robbrod Photos From Larry Goodman: And now for something completely different… I’m sure most folks reading this ex...
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| Courtesy of Robbrod Photos |
From Larry Goodman:
And now for something completely different…
I’m sure most folks reading this expected me to be at Anarchy last night. That was the plan, but I found myself being drawn to the NWA Atlanta show. Some of the matchups intrigued me, and I was curious to see how things were shaping up with Rick Michaels doing the booking. Little did I know that I was in for some pleasant surprises.
I had attended only one NWA Atlanta event previous to last night. That was in the summer of 2012 at the Stockbridge Middle School. It wasn’t a bad show. On the other hand, it did not compel me to go back for more.
I had not seen a show at Metro Auction in Locust Grove since Jody Hamilton ran a few DSW shows there the summer of 2007 after WWE severed their development deal. The venue has been upgraded considerably from the crude set up Hamilton used. The dim lighting and cramped quarters give the building a vibe all its own, and it’s one that works well for pro wrestling.
It’s hard to argue with success at the box office, and NWA Atlanta is certainly experiencing that. There last show was SRO, and the place was packed last night, with somewhere in the range of 175-200 in attendance. The roster changes and storylines that Michaels has put in surely appear to be working.
I enjoyed the show. It was a compact, well-paced event: five matches that all served a purpose and a running time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. The wrestling isn’t on the level of Anarchy, but it’s quite acceptable and a whole lot better than what I saw in 2012.
For what it’s worth, NWA Atlanta is the only wrestling promotion in Georgia affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance. Three NWA Georgia championships are based here. Tyson Dean and Andy Anderson have been traveling to NWA Southern All-‘Star Wrestling in Nashville where they hold the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship. I was surprised that no announcement was made about Hiroyoshi Tenzan winning the NWA World Heavyweight Champion from Rob Conway, especially since Conway made a title defense against Dean for NWA Atlanta.
Commissioner Rick Michaels opened the show by firing referee Brooklyn Page. Michaels said Page had aligned herself with NWA Georgia Champion Tyson Dean at Peachstate where she is the timekeeper, and he no longer trusted her to officiate at NWA Atlanta.
Al Getz introduced himself as the new manager of Tradition (Dean & Anderson). Michaels said Getz was a snake in the grass that had never done anything but cause trouble. Getz told Page he had an offer she could not refuse, and all her dreams would come true if she meet with Tradition backstage.
(1) Young Lions (Lex Lee & Kevin Coffman) defeated champions Blunt Force Trauma (Pain & Bill the Butcher) and former champions Beautiful Bald Besties (Michael Stevens & Zac Edwards) to win the NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship in 12:26. Stevens was taking a beating from the other teams until Edwards spread the ropes to spill Coffman out. The Besties isolated Coffman. Stevens knocked Lee off the apron to prevent a tag to his partner. Moments later, Coffman used a Morton roll to tag Pain. The champions screwed up as Butcher’s big boot nailed Pain. Lions double dropkicked Butcher, and the momentum sent him over the top rope. At least that was the idea. Besties tried to double backdrop Lee, who superkicked Stevens, allowing Coffman to roll Edwards up. Good match except for Butcher’s bump on the double dropkick. The crowd was popping for Pain’s power moves. Edwards was barely in as he is need of surgery for a torn ACL. Lions looked really good here overcoming adversity and I was surprised the fans didn’t get behind them more.
(2) Odinson defeated Nigel Sherrod in 10:30. Sherrod’s stalling antics got bigtime heat and a “Tinkerbell” chant. Odinson overpowered Sherrod and suplexed him all over the place. Sherrod resorted to every cheap tactic in his playbook, including a foreign object he had hidden in his kneepad. But it wasn’t enough. Sherrod managed to get a foot on the ropes after Odinson’s one-armed spinning neckbreaker. Odinson then hoisted him up for an Eye of Storm and Sherrod was toast. Odinson is an absolute beast. He needs polishing but guys with his tools don’t grow on trees.
(3) Simon Sermon defeated Andy Anderson (with Al Getz & Brooklyn Page) to retain the NWA Atlanta Heavyweight Championship in 8:30. Sermon took Anderson down and rode him. Anderson took time out to recover from the humiliation. Anderson went to work on Sermon with high impact moves. When Sermon tried for a high crossbody, Anderson rudely deposited him over the top rope. Anderson made Sermon suffer. He gave Sermon a shot into the rail in front of birthday boy Carl White. After a brief comeback capped off with a Stinger splash, Sermon hooked Anderson with a backslide for the win. This match worked just fine. Anderson got plenty of offense and was kept strong in a losing effort. He’s never going to be Mr. Smooth in the ring, but Anderson’s selling has gotten better and his power moves looked impressive.
Afterward, Tommy Too Much blindsided Sermon and tried to suffocate him with that infernal plastic bag. The Young Lion’s rescued Sermon before serious damage was done. Too Much said he had tagged with that Sermon for 14 years, and that piece of trash got all the credit. Too Much said he took the Heritage Title from Sermon in PWA, and now he was going to take the NWA Atlanta belt, spit in the fans’ faces and say to hell with all of them. Sermon said he almost killed Too Much at PWA and vowed to finish what he started. The angle got the incensed, stunned crowd reaction they were looking for. Bringing this feud to NWA Atlanta strikes me as a stellar idea. If it works even half as well as it did in PWA, they it will be good thing for the box office.
(4) Fry Daddy pinned Kyle Matthews with one second remaining in the 25 minute time limit to retain the NWA Georgia Junior Championship. Matthews opened with submissions like the Muta Lock and a bow & arrow. At the 5 minute mark, a furious exchange ended with simultaneous dropkicks for a healthy pop. Matthews dominated mid-portion of the match, punishing Fry Daddy with variations of the surfboard. Fry Daddy got Matthews up piggy back style and rammed his back into the turnbuckles to flip the momentum. Fry Daddy busted out his up & over – Stinger splash – bulldog sequence. Matthews reversed a stunner into a backcracker for the first close near fall of the match. Matthews did his slingshot roll up – superkick for a two count and went up for the frogsplash. It missed. Fry Daddy’s superman punch connected but Matthews kicked out. With 5 minutes to go, Matthews dumped Fry Daddy out and posted him. The crowd chanted “Fry Dad E”. Fry Daddy cut Matthews off as he went to the top and hit a superplex. Both men tried for flying crossbodys and collided in midair. Matthews applied a single leg crab, then got the full crab, but Fry Daddy made it to the ropes. In the final 60 seconds, Fry Daddy hit a sky high powerbomb for a close near fall, and Matthews almost got the three count with a tornado DDT. When Matthews tried for an O’Connor Roll, Fry Daddy rolled through and scored the pin just before the bell rang. They got the timing right on the finish. The consistency of announcer Jason Boyd’s time calls helped the credibility. The objective was to elevate Fry Daddy, and Matthews did his best to make it happen. Fry Daddy is already the most popular wrestler in NWA Atlanta. The fans like his charisma. His moveset is decent enough, but his chops are weak, and he needs to be more varied and expressive with his selling. The zombie walk when he's stunned looks weird. That said, Fry Daddy is their guy, and the fans are more than willing to overlook his shortcomings in the ring.
Commissioner Michaels informed Fry Daddy that he could choose Matthew or Jimmy Rave for his opponent at Fatal Encounter in Stockbridge on March 28, and on March 14 he needed to announce his decision.
(5) Tyson Dean (with Al Getz & Brooklynn Page) defeated Shane Marx (with Dewitt Dawson) to retain the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship in 22:07. Dawson did the introduction for Marx. Brooklyn was wearing a long dress and title belt on her shoulder. They opened with a little ga ga to see which guy could garner the biggest pop. Referee Tristan Michaels was the easy winner. Dean swerved Marx with a cheap shot on the lock up and capitalized with kidney punches. Marx won a battle of headbutts, and Dean had to bail out to regain his senses. The pattern of the match was set. Dean would cheat. Marx would rally back. Dean would cheat to regain the advantage. Anderson appeared on the entrance way to watch. The crowd got into Marx’s fire and resiliency and started chanting his name. Marx made the full-fledged comeback, hitting a flying forearm and a Perfect Plex for two counts. Marx kicked out of Dean’s stunner. Dean fought off the Natural Selection (Death Valley Driver). Marx escaped from a second stunner and caught Dean with a spinebuster for a close near fall. Marx was ready to deliver the DVD but got distracted by Getz on the apron, and Dean caught him off guard with a spinning neckbreaker for the 1-2-3. Good match. Dean and Marx meshed well and the match built nicely, but the mild distraction finish came off weak considering how intense and focused Marx had been up until that point.
Postmatch, Anderson and Dean were doing a number on Marx until Michaels threatened to strip Dean’s title and fire them. Michaels said he had just gotten off the phone with NWA President Bruce Tharpe, and announced Tradition would be defending the NWA Southern Tag Team Championships against Blunt Force Trauma on March 14.
