NWA Bluegrass Boogie Bash 2003 with KB

[klunderbunker]

NWA Bluegrass Boogie Bash 2003
Date: December 12, 2003
Location: Highland Elementary School, Paintsville, Kentucky
Commentator: Michael Lovely

I know absolutely nothing about this tape. It’s in Kentucky I presume and is put on by what is now known as the NWA. I have no idea if it’s any good, I have no idea when it happened, where it is or who is in it (any information that winds up here is added after I start watching it) and I have no idea why I picked it other than it being in Kentucky. Let’s get to it.

We open with the Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant ranting and raving about how much he loves wrestling and how great Kentucky fans are. Apparently this is about him.

NWA Bluegrass Cruiserweight Championship: Brett Sharp vs. Erik Darkstorm

Oh dear what have I gotten myself into? They’re in an elementary school gym. Darkstorm is champion here and the entrances might run five seconds each. I think Darkstorm is the face here. There are maybe 30 people here. You can hear individual fans shouting things. We hear about a wrestler named Vinnie Viagra. Oh dear. This is a rivalry apparently and the fans are shouting something about nipples.

Erik hammers away in the corner and Sharp hits the floor in front of the dozens of fans. This is a tribute show to Valiant apparently. Aren’t tribute shows for dead people usually? Arm work by Darkstorm and a cross body gets two. The announcer isn’t bad at least. Sharp takes over and tiptoes into the corner to run into a boot. X Factor puts Sharp down for no cover.

What was I think a cross body misses for Darkstorm and it’s off to an armbar. Enough of that it seems so it’s time for more arm work by the challenger. Darkstorm uses a 450 apparently. Darkstorm is thrown to the floor but Sharp is sent into the post. Back in the ring and a slingshot hilo gets no cover for the champion.

Sharp gets a horrible backdrop to put Darkstorm down for two. We hit the chinlock and then enter a horrible looking sequence where Darkstorm tries to flip over the back of Sharp (RVD does this a lot) and misses as does a spinwheel kick. A decent standing moonsault gets two for the champion.

Apparently there was a bad snow/ice storm around this time. If that’s the case I can understand the low turnout as those storms are insanely bad. Tiger Bomb (kind of) gets two for Darkstorm as does a rollup by Sharp. In a rather quick ending, Darkstorm takes him down and hits a decent 450 to end it.

Rating: D+. This is one of those shows where I’m going to go lighter on the grading as this is all indy stuff and low level indy stuff at that. This wasn’t bad and the 450 popped the crowd fairly well. Not a horrible match but about what you would expect from guys on this level in this spot.

Mike Williams vs. Shawn Christian vs. Scotty Rider

This is the Boogie Invitational Camp match for no apparent reason. Ah apparently they’re from Boogie Woogie Man’s school and this is a match to showcase them apparently. One guy, Rider apparently, chills on the floor. Christian gets a nice headscissors to take Williams down. Belly to belly by Williams gets two. The referee’s shirt isn’t tucked in so he looked weird.

I have no idea what Scotty’s last name is. The graphic says Rider but the commentator keeps saying Rocker. Rider comes in and tries an electric chair on Christian which is reversed into a rana attempt but that gets reversed into a wheelbarrow slam. Rider fights off both guys and sends them to the floor. A DDT by Christian takes Williams down outside. Christian isn’t anything great but he’s definitely the best guy in here.

Williams tries a rana off the top but Rider powerbombs him for two. Flip Flop and Fly by Rider on Christian as apparently Dusty Rhodes is here. Rider is a power guy and throws Christian onto Williams. Christian tries an O’Connor Roll but Williams catches him in a wheelbarrow slam. What is with their hardons for that move in this match? A couple of low blows are ignored by the referee and we get a Tower of Doom spot. Rider powerbombs Christian who suplexed Rider if you’re interested.

This announcer is getting rather annoying here. Diamond Cutter by Christian to Williams. I guess I should tell you what they look like at least. Christian is tall and in all black, Williams is kind of short and big but not fat and Rider is a semi-fat power guy in all pink. The crowd is filling out a bit which is a good sign. Christian hits a superkick to put Rider down for two. They do…something that results in a two for Rider. I think the foot was on the rope but it looked terribly botched as I think Williams missed his cue. Either way Williams “hits” a missile dropkick on Rider to end this.

Rating: C-. Not bad actually but again this is on an adjusted scale. Christian could be decent with some more ring time and some good coaching. He’s definitely the best of these three as the others are very bland indeed. Rider in the bright pink didn’t work at all and the commentating was annoying with me not knowing what one guy’s name was. WFast paced match though and it worked ok.

George South vs. Bruiser Graham

Both guys are older here. South was a jobber back in the 80s and early 90s in WCW. Bruiser is apparently a friend of Valiant. He’s rather fat and in jeans while South, who is well known for being a Christian wrestler, is in black trunks with John 3:16 on the back of them. Nothing wrong with that. This is joined in progress with South in control.

South is heel here which is kind of weird for a guy with John 3:16 on his tights but whatever. Bruiser works on the arm and then South does the same. Bruiser hammers away but gets reversed into the corner. South misses a charge and gets rolled up for a very fast three count. This was maybe 2 minutes long.

Krissy Vaine vs. Jenny Taylor

Taylor’s name is Bootylicious so we hear that every 8 seconds. Vaine is heel here and I’ve heard of her before. Apparently this is a rivalry. At least they both look pretty good. Vaine works the leg to start which Taylor reverses into an armbar. Vaine would wind up in DSW in a few years and would be on Smackdown once and that’s about it.

Taylor takes over and misses a dropkick by a good 12 inches which Vaine sells anyway. Back in after that “dropkick” and Vaine chokes away. It’s pretty clear they have no real planning out there. Taylor gets a sunset flip for two. Vaine throws her around by the hair a few times and then gets the same thing done to her. Taylor gets her foot on the rope to break up a pin and rolls up an arguing Vaine for the quick pin. Horrible ending.

Rating: D. The girls looked good and that’s about it. Women’s wrestling is so hit or miss it’s unreal and this was a miss. They looked sloppy beyond belief with that dropkick being atrocious. Not much of a match here as it was short and rather bad while it was in there. Also I don’t want to hear an older man talking about someone being Bootylicious. There’s something wrong about that.

NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship: Chris Draven vs. Shane Matthews

Matthews is the heel and challenger here. This is more or less the NWA’s national Cruiserweight Title. Matthews was in the main event of a Chikara show I reviewed recently. Draven has a porn stache going. Draven might weigh 180lbs. This is a main event apparently. Oh dear. This is kind of like they have no idea what they want to do out there to start off.

Matthews controls for a few moments but a back elbow takes him down for two. Back to Matthews now but another elbow gets another two. Suplex gets the same for Matthews. We hit the chinlock which eats up some time. The fans think Matthews looks like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. They might be onto something there actually. Leg drop by Matthews misses which gets two for Draven.

Piledriver by Matthews is reversed into a slingshot for two. Matthews keeps turning the momentum back to his own favor here and it happens way too fast at times. A moonsault off the top misses and here comes Draven. Fisherman’s suplex gets two for Draven and he hits the ten punches in the corner. Matthews pulls the referee into a splash from Draven to put him down. Belt shot by Matthews misses and a HORRIBLE superkick gets two for Draven. A top rope elbow ends this quickly for Draven.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t much at all either with these matches having no heat or backstory at all. Neither guy had me wanting to see more of him and Draven is just dull beyond belief. Granted his name is tradition and this is the NWA so more than likely he’s perfect in their eyes.

NWA Bluegrass Tag Titles: Beautiful People vs. Redneck Express

Beautiful People are champions here. One of them is named Billy Maverick and one of the Rednecks is named the Rebel (Lex Luger anyone?). The Beautiful ones are champions and this is joined in progress. The other Redneck is named Chris Vega and is the smaller one. Vinnie Viagra, the other Beautiful Person, jumps out onto Rebel and Maverick to take them out. Vega does the same to take everyone out in a nice dive.

This is No DQ, No Countout and No Time Limit. Viagra with a modified surfboard on Vega. They’re tagging here despite the whole lack of DQs. These two had a tag title change three weeks ago so this is the rematch for the Rednecks. We get a horrible chinlock by Viagra which gets him nowhere. Spinning neckbreaker by “the Sexecutioner”. Ok then. It’s Viagra by the way if that wasn’t clear.

Maverick vs. Vega at the moment. Double clothesline puts both guys down as Rebel tries to clap Vega to betterness. Rebel, a big fat guy, gets the tag and can barely get into the ring properly. Everything breaks down and the referee is literally not even looking at the wrestlers for a good while. What the hell? Two on the floor and two in the ring now. Vinnie looks for a belt but settles for a chair. That hits his partner and a belt shot gives the Rednecks a double pin and the titles back.

Rating: D+. Another mess of a match here but maybe the better part was at the beginning. Again, an explanation or a backstory other than this is a rematch would have helped this a lot but that’s too much to ask for I guess. Nothing worth seeing here but I guess they needed a title change for history purposes.

NWA Bluegrass Title: Chance Prophet vs. Sinn

Prophet recently won a national title with the NWA and is champion coming in here. He’s a guy that looks like Great Muta kind of. Sinn is in TNA at this point and is a member of the Disciples of the New Church. He’s more famous as Kizarny. Sinn hammers away which gets him nowhere. Big clothesline puts Sinn down as I think Chance is face here. Sinn’s partner is here apparently but not at ringside.

A slingshot cross body by Sinn misses and Prophet gets a sunset flip for two. Sinn drops him throat first across the top rope to take over. He then covers Prophet by holding him down by the face. That’s a new one. More miscommunication and Sinn tries something that is like a reverse figure four. It’s hard to describe but Sinn has Prophet’s legs in a figure four position and stands, pulling back on them. It’s kind of weird but effective I’d think.

Sinn isn’t happy that he can’t get the pin and gives them a variety of evil glares for it. A Russian leg sweep puts Prophet’s head into the buckle. This is one of those matches where stuff is happening but nothing is going on if that makes sense. Prophet fights back and tries some Rolling Germans but can’t get the third one. Down goes the referee as Chance hits a Michinoku Driver. Slash, Sinn’s partner, comes in for a double Rack Drop (they both have him in a Torture Rack and drop backwards so it’s like a two man Angle Slam) which is enough for the pin for Sinn.

Rating: C-. Not a terrible match here but it wasn’t much at all. Sinn is clearly more seasoned than the majority of these guys, but he was on a major stage at this time as opposed to the rest of these guys. Not a terrible match but pretty dull for the most part. Sinn isn’t the guy you want carrying a match but he did ok here.

Dusty Rhodes comes out for the save for Prophet from the Disciples of the New Church. Dusty gets a big ovation as you would expect him do. He wants a piece of Slash so here we go.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Slash

Slash is Wolfie D of PG-13. Before we get started Slash grabs a mic and insults the fans with some gay slurs. A single elbow puts Slash on the floor and one to Sinn does the same as Dusty rules the ring for a bit. Dusty works the arm and even though he’s doing very basic stuff, you can see he knows exactly what he’s doing and is working the crowd every second.

Out to the floor now as Slash takes over with some right hands. They have ropes as a barrier here so Slash chokes away with that for a bit. Back into the ring and it’s a neck crank to the Dream. That goes on for a good while and then it’s some choking with the wrist tape. Asiatic Nerve Hold goes on as we waste WAY too much time here.

Literally this hold lasts about two and a half minutes. Flip Flop and Fly puts Slash down and Sinn interferes. That of course gets them nowhere other than on their backs as Dusty moves away and they collide. Dusty rolls up Slash and it’s over. Like he wasn’t going to go over here. That’s not a criticism mind you, merely an observation.

Rating: D-. Yeah Dusty worked the crowd well and the fans were into it, but when there are five minutes in a match and one goes to them walking around and two is spent in various rest holds, that’s not much of a match. Dusty had to win here which is fine but this was pretty weak nonetheless.

The New Church argues but that gets them nowhere and Sinn says he owns the title and therefore all of the fans here tonight.

Masked Superstar, Boogie Woogie Man’s opponent tonight, says that he’s going to make Valiant’s retirement happen early. I’m not sure if that’s Bill Eadie, as in Ax from Demolition and the guy that made Masked Superstar famous, under the mask. It’s not his voice.

Jimmy Valiant vs. Masked Superstar

Valiant goes to shake hands with literally every fan in the audience before the match. He’s almost covered in tattoos which really doesn’t suit him but whatever. He’s over as hell of course but this is taking way too much time. For some reason he kisses the referee before we get started here. The Superstar, wearing a different mask than in the promo, puts something in his singlet.

We play hide the object for awhile and I’m wondering how long before I see some actual wrestling. Masked dude still has the object somewhere. Valiant’s tights almost come up to his sagging nipples. We’ve had a punch and two lockups in about five minutes now. Off to a headlock now and Boogie gets shoved off. His reaction: a pelvic thrust.

Boogie struts more than Flair does. I get that this is the feature of the night but wouldn’t it be a bit better to have him do more than headlocks? Down goes Boogie and he shakes like a fish. And Boogie is getting his ass kicked. Off to the chinlock as I’d assume Valiant needs his oxygen tank. Yep that’s Ax. He growled and talked in that voice of his.

Jimmy fights up and Superstar goes for the object. Jimmy blocks the shot and the referee sees it. And it’s a DQ win for Jimmy. Dude, seriously? You can’t let him get a damn rollup? There wasn’t enough wrestling in this to grade a damn thing but the ending was freaking stupid.

Overall Rating: D. This was a hard one to grade as the show is incredibly low budget (elementary school remember?) and with the NWA at the time it’s not like anything was going on. Also the whole Valiant thing was just ok as he wasn’t there at all really other than 10 minutes at the end. Of a 90 minute show, that’s not saying much at all. Not much of a show but at just 90 minutes there’s only so much you can complain about. Standard low budget indy fair here.