NWA Anarchy’s second television taping for May might be subtitled the good, the bad and the ugly.
There's a lot going on in terms of well-intentioned efforts to elevate talent - mostly born out of necessity, some out of desire to change
things up. It’s too early to pass judgment, but at this juncture, there aren’t many stars bursting out of the pack. The hit-and-miss nature of
the booking isn't doing them many favors. On this night, it was left to the established top tier talent to provide the highlights via two
excellent main events and one of the best heel promos the building has seen in quite some time.
For a variety of reasons, the in ring star power quotient was down. Shadow Jackson, Shaun Tempers and Tank weren’t there. Mikal Judas,
Ace Rockwell and Truitt Fields appeared in non-wrestling capacities. Kimo and Jeremy Vain are no longer with the promotion, and before
the night was over, another top star had finished up.
Attendance at the NWA Arena in Cornelia was 100, and it wasn’t a particularly hot group. It was festival weekend in Habersham County,
which is always a tough time to draw.
Much to his dismay, John “The Body” Johnson (heel color commentator) was joined in the ring by NWA Anarchy owner Jerry Palmer.
Palmer said he had something to say to Johnson’s scheduled guest. Out came Judas, the new NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Champion.
Palmer said Shadow Jackson would not be able to have his rematch on May 29 (Judas injured Jackson in the process of taking his title
two weeks ago) and informed Judas that his opponent would be “Merciless” Don Matthews. Mr. Black and Chris Mayne came out to
cause trouble. Matthews took care of them with the help of Slim J, but while that was going on, Judas jumped Palmer and cruelly beat
him into unconsciousness. The unnamed British Hobo Clown character strolled into the ring and got in Palmer’s face. The clown had an
eerie presence on the big screen. In the flesh, not so much. Matthews and J shielded Palmer from further abuse, but the damage was
done. The clown was pissed. Security had to carry Palmer to the back. Crowd was stunned. I wouldn't say horrified. As desensitized as
they are, that kind of response is tough get.
(1) Wild Bunch (Chris King & Billy Buck) beat Rymer Twins (Evan & Kevan) to retain the NWA Anarchy Tag Team Championship in 3:19
Rymers (think Young Bucks except they’re identical twins) didn’t look as tiny as they did against those monsters on NWA Main Event TV.
Champs dominated. One Rymer lost his grip on the ropes and took a nasty spill to the floor. Finish was killer. The other Rymers went for
a springboard move and smacked directly into Buck’s super kick.
(2) Andrew Pendleton III beat Bo Newsome to retain the NWA Anarchy Young Lion’s Championship in 6:19
Newsome interrupted Pendleton’s promo and said that since the title wasn’t classy enough for him (Pendleton deposited it a the trash
can two weeks ago), he was taking it. I wish he hadn’t a done that. It makes the baby face look like a dope when he makes a promise he
can’t keep. Newsome’s early offense looked fine. Pendleton poked him in the eyes, and talked trash as he dished out punishment.
Newsome hit a wicked springboard forearm that left both men down. Newsome got a near fall with that sweet dropkick of his. Just like
that, Pendleton hit a hammerlock side slam for the pin. Good stuff. I liked the clean and sudden nature of the finish.
Seth Delay challenged Caprice Coleman to a TV title match. Delay said everyone knew he was the best wrestler in the world, and the
proof was the “Hands of Steel” number he did on Coleman at Hardcore Hell.
(3) Skirra Corvus (with Enoch Tsarion) beat Aden Chambers in 8:14
No pop at all for Chambers. It’s not that the guy lacks talent, but he’s been here a while now, and for whatever reason, he’s not
connecting. Crowd was dead for the match as well. The wrestling was decent enough, but the people weren’t the least bit interested in
seeing Chambers beat Corvus, who had the cool heel thing going for him. Tsarion berated Corvus for taking an early whipping. I like
Tsarion’s presence. It fits well with Corvus. Corvus ended a battle on the apron by rudely upending Chambers. Corvus busted out his
signature moves. Chambers hit a springboard cross body for a double down. Both guys were working really hard and crickets were
chirping. Chambers got a near fall with a tornado DDT. Finish was nice. Corvus kicked Chambers in the gut, as he went for a springboard
move from the apron. Chambers slumped across the ropes and Corvus curbstomped him in an elevated position.
(4) Anthony Henry beat Jacob Ashworth in 5:02
This was the ugly. Terrible match. Both guys are better than they showed here. An early arm drag was a complete whiff. Henry was way off
his game. He almost fell down a couple of times. Henry used God’s Last Gift for the pin, but the crowd had long since checked out on it.
NWA National Champion Phil Shatter entered the ring with Attorney Jeff G. Bailey. “It’s hot in here tonight. That’s just us,” Bailey said. Little
did he know how true that was. Bailey was a man of surprisingly few words, as he turned the mic over to Shatter, who reminded all in
attendance that at 16 months, he was the longest reigning NWA National Champion and the #1 contender for the NWA World
Heavyweight Championship. Shatter issued an open challenge that was answered by Slim J.
(5) Phil Shatter (with Attorney Jeff G. Bailey) beat Slim J to retain the NWA National Heavyweight Title in 8:56
This match saved what would have been a highly mediocre hour of television. Best heat by far. Given the size differential, J shouldn’t be
able to do a believable match with the likes of Shatter, but he can and he did. At first, Shatter didn’t take J seriously. J went berserk on him
and had Shatter covering up. After regaining his composure, Shatter slung J into the post like he was a small child and rammed him into
the rail. Bailey and Shatter set about torturing the marks. Bailey put his Gucci loafers to Slim right in front of this one guy who was about to
lose it. Security had to take another guy outside to calm him down. Meanwhile, Shatter was destroying J’s back. He also landed a high
knee right to the jaw of the little guy. Shatter missed a middle rope elbow drop to set up a hot comeback by J. When Slim went up for his
finisher, Pendleton ran out an dumped him off. J countered the PTSD with a huracanrana. J went for Screwdriver on the Rocks, but
Shatter blocked it and speared him for the pin. Great finish. Fans were getting hope and it really took the air out of them.
(6) Brodie Chase beat Mr. Black in 3:53
Right from the get go, Chase was able to knock the big man off his feet. Black brawled and mauled his way into control, scoring near falls
with a face breaker/neck breaker combo and sidewalk slam. Black tried for the choke slam. Chase blocked it and pinned Black clean with
a double arm DDT. Good way to continue Chase's ascent from the eternal mid card.
Johnson introduced Truitt Fields for an exclusive in ring interview. Fields was escorted to the ring by five security guards and proceeded to
cut an a promo on Rockwell that was all kinds of awesome. “The look in your eyes last week, it was madness. It was kind of scary,”
Fields said. “But it’s not just that I have the best body. I have a mind, and a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Fields went on about how
Rockwell’s fiancee touched his face, how he smelled her hair – “the scent of a woman” – how he raised her above his perfectly sculpted
shoulders and cranked and cranked (with the torture rack), until he heard the vertebrae pop. He wanted to know if Rockwell’s trip to the
hospital was a magical night. Rockwell’s music hit. Fields deployed his security force towards the entrance ramp, but Rockwell entered
the ring via the front door. Rockwell nailed Fields with a high knee and went for Aces High, but Fields slipped out of it and security pulled
him out of the ring. It was Rockwell’s turn to talk. Fields stood on the ramp faking like his security guys were holding him back. There was
nothing wrong with Rockwell’s promo, but it seemed to dissipate the heat. Crowd popped when he said he would put his fist so far down
Fields’ throat that he would be crapping fingernails and shoelaces. Rockwell announced that the stipulation for May 29 as voted by the
fans was an I Quit Match. That also got a big pop. Crowd was chanting “Ace” before it was all over.
Tsarion entered the ring with Corvus. He said they usually ride alone, but he had an epiphany and decided to go after the tag titles.
Tsarion introduced Orion Bishop as the number one hit man and free agent.
(7) Skirra Corvus & Orion Bishop (with Enoch Tsarion) beat New Wave (Steven Walters & Derrick Driver) in a number one contender’
s match in 11:17
Walters opened with chain wrestling against Corvus, a smart choice because it was different from everything that had gone before. There
was also a nice sequence with Driver using his speed and agility against Bishop’s power. Bishop doesn’t bump for mere mortals.
Walters took the heat. Bishop hit Collateral Damage (Vader style reverse splash) but Walters got a foot on the ropes. Corvus used his
kneeling Cattle Mutilation and showed amazing flexibility on a Matrix move. Bishop used a variation of a cobra clutch to good effect. He
should make it a regular part of his arsenal. Finish saw Driver try for a Lion Sault, but Bishop caught him and turned it into an F5 for the
pin. Good match.
I don’t get what Anarchy is doing with New Wave. They have the look and athleticism of champions, which they were on two occasions.
Theoretically, they should be able to elevate their opponents, but the booking has consistently diminished their standing to where that’s
no longer possible.
Postmatch, Hate Junkies (Stryknyn & the returning Dany Only) gave New Wave the beatdown. Security helped New Wave from the ring, but
they insisted in leaving under their own power.
(8) Don Matthews beat Chris Mayne in 6:11
Mayne jumped Matthews from behind. Matthews didn’t sell it. He chopped the bejeezus out of Mayne, and the fans were loving it.
Matthews hit the BFK and set up for the Lariat. It was all good to this point. With Matthews challenging Judas at the next show, that should
have been it. Instead, Mayne escaped his eventual fate by bailing out. After a bit of ringside thrashing from Matthews, Mayne came back
with a spurt of offense including several pin attempts. Matthews hit an impressive full nelson slam, a hat trick (stolen from Greg Hunter’s
commentary) of elbow drops and finished with the Lariat. Matthews’ stuff looked good, but Mayne is a comedy job guy that should have
been squashed under the circumstances.
(9) Seth Delay beat Caprice Coleman to win the NWA Anarchy TV Championship in 14:10
A definite improvement over their match on March 20. Huge pop for Coleman’s intro. Delay initiated an exchange of slaps. The next time
Delay cheated, Coleman delivered one of the stiffest knockdown chops you would ever want to see. Made Matthews’ chops look like child’
s play and that’s saying something. Coleman used a unique cutthroat top wrist lock and basically put on a clinic in the early going. Delay’s
chest was crimson red from all the stiff chops. Delay ducked Coleman’s baseball slide around the ring post, but wasn’t so fortunate the
second time around. At 5 minutes in, Delay sent Coleman flying off the apron into the camera stand. Delay took over for a bit, but
Coleman made an explosive aerial comeback. Delay had the spin scissors kick scouted and countered with his fireman’s carry
gut buster. Delay, however, missed a top rope elbow, and Coleman hit the spin scissors kick. Coleman hit a triad of northern lights
suplexes, the third one into the turnbuckles. Delay moved and Coleman’s corner dropkick took out ref Ken Wallace big time. Delay hit the
Kool Krusher and went for the brass knucks. Coleman cut him off with the corner dropkick and hit That’s Life. Wallace was still down, so
Coleman had to drag him over to make the count, and Delay kicked out. Delay blocked a second attempt at That’s Life and clocked
Coleman with the knucks for the 1-2-3. Match of the night.
There was a long round of applause for Coleman, as some fans had gotten wind of the fact that was finishing up.
Being that this was Coleman’s final appearance as a regular (see notes below), a few things need to be said. When Coleman returned
to Cornelia last October, he was hoping to land a spot at a higher level. Speaking as someone who saw all of his NWA Wildside stuff, he
didn’t just come back, he came back better than ever. The fact that nothing materialized is pure size discrimination, because he’s got
everything else. Coleman’s eight month run in Anarchy consisted of one stellar performance after another. His presence will be greatly
missed.
NOTES: Coleman asked to be released from his Anarchy commitments due to his pastoral duties. He was offered an 8:30am Sunday morning service at First Mission Baptist in Southern Pines, NC. Coleman hopes to make occasional appearance for NWA Anarchy in the future...Rockwell, Delay and Bishop are booked for the NWA Main Event taping in Nashville on May 20…The May 29 show is a special fanfest event which is also a benefit for the March of Dimes. Shatter vs. Tank was added along with Rockwell vs. Fields in an I Quit Match, and Judas vs. Matthews…It was a busy night for Ken Wallace and Dee Byers, as they were the only refs on hand.
Credit: Larry Goodman @ www.GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com
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