Gordo, the wizard of id, reviews

NSW END OF DAYS

“The Fixating Final Demo”

May 13/06 &pm NSW’s Hall of Justice

Hamilton Ontario Admission: Free

The Advertised Card

NSW Heavyweight Championship: 4-Way Sudden Death

Timothy Dalton (C) vs James Gracey vs St. Stephen Elias vs Adam Reed

NSW Tag Team Championship

Mike Stevens & “Unreal” Michael Elgin (C) vs Beauty & the Beast (HHV & Danny Magnum) w/ Kyle Davenport

NSW Intercities Championship

Mark Shaw (C) vs Kris Law

NSW Cruiserweight Championship: 4-way Dance

Prodigy (C) vs Scotty O’Shea vs Snapdragon vs Mystery Opponent

NSW Just Pure Wrestling Championship

Steve Brown (C) vs Rob Garcia

Spike Hammer vs Cody Shore

Alex York vs Devon Parkside

“Showtime” Brett Scholl vs Jay Phoenix

Immunity Battle Royal

The Venue: NSW’s Hall of Justice is, of course, Unit 13 in Hamilton. The management has been hard at work since I last was there and the place is looking pretty good now. The walls have all been completely painted and there is some new lighting. Now they can illuminate just the ring instead of the whole building and they’ve installed some fancy strobes and colored lights in the wrestler entrance. A large photo banner hangs from the ceiling and plans for more improvements are in the works.

Pre Show: As usual Mrs Id and I showed up early and spent time checking out the new look and talking with many of the NSW stars. Jeff Smith, member of the NSW management team was a gracious host and introduced us to many we hadn’t yet met. Perhaps the most gregarious of these was NSW diva, Pandora. She is certainly as entertaining outside the ring as her character is in it. I’ll be seeking her out for a further in depth interview in the future as this woman shoots from the hip and it would appear that a lot of NSW’s in-ring “heat” between performers has roots based in reality. Also in attendance were PWA stars Reggie Marley, Jessy Jones and Paul Wright. Two of those three didn’t remain spectators for long. The doors opened 15 minutes before the show started and that’s the last time people will enter an NSW show for free in Hamilton. From here on in, its pay as you go for fans of this fed.

The show started with the arrival to the ring of reigning NSW Heavyweight Champion Timothy Dalton, Just Pure Wrestling Champion Steve Brown and Cruiserweight Champ, Prodigy accompanied by the skater/hobo chick Mercy. Dalton cut a promo about remaining the Champ forever and said that “millions” of people had read of his exploits on the internet. He also said that in July, he would handily defeat Matt Sydal which got a big cheer from the NSW fans. (Matt Sydal – not Dalton saying he’d beat him.) Brown then got on the stick and put himself over as the greatest NSW wrestler of all time. He cited his past in UWA and compared that to being in NSW: “I was a huge fish in a big pond; now I’m a whale in a teardrop!” Needless to say, this brought numerous “Whale on the beach” chants and other derogatory remarks. Even the scowling Prodigy had to smile at Brown feeding the crowd ammunition to harpoon him with forever. Brown was beside himself (That’s not really possible – with TWO Steve Browns in the ring, there wouldn’t be room for anyone else.) and called out Rob Garcia to fight for the title right then and there. Brown said he busted Garcia’s ribs up before and would do it again.

NSW Just Pure Wrestling Championship: Steve Brown (C) w/Prodigy & Mercy vs Rob Garcia – The fans were still all over Brown with calls of “Just Pure Whale” when Garcia came to the ring. At the bell, Garcia went right after Brown with a dropkick and drop toe so the Champ bailed to the outside and stalled. Back inside he blocked a suplex attempt and nailed Garcia with a backbreaker for a quick 2 count. Brown kept up the attack, working over Garcia’s neck and driving big knees into his gut. Dropping the challenger gut-first onto his knee gave him another 2. Garcia fought back but Brown nailed him with a spinning heel kick coming off the ropes which, considering his size was a remarkable move. Garcia was able to kick out of the pin so Brown started concentrating his assault on the challenger’s ribs. After working on the ribs for a while Brown nailed a suplex and locked on a sleeper. Garcia wouldn’t go down so Brown distracted the ref while Prodigy did some chokes on the ropes. Garcia reversed a whip into the ropes and nailed Brown with a DDT that left both men prone on the canvas. Garcia was up first and climbed the corner ropes but a low blow from Brown stopped whatever he was planning. Brown scaled the corner as well and after a brief struggle, Garcia caught him with another DDT for a 2 count of his own. Brown came back with a big clothesline but suddenly Toste ran out from the back and gave the Champ a neck stretch over the top rope. Stunned, Brown turned around and Garcia smoked him with a kick to the chin and locked on the STF. After a brief struggle, Brown tapped out and Garcia accepted the belt and the cheers of the crowd. A decent, fast paced opener that delivered plenty of hard hitting moves. Given the history of never-ending cheating tactics from NSW bad guys, it was a surprise to see Brown become the victim of skullduggery for a change.

“Showtime” Brett Scholl vs Jay Phoenix – Scholl, introduced as hailing from “Kris Law’s mother’s house” actually succeeded in jumping over the ropes when entering the ring. As usual, he berated fans for being “stupid marks” and invited everyone to leave: “Walk out! You know you want too!” His opponent, Jay Phoenix, is one of the rising young stars of NSW and received a warm welcome from all the “stupid marks.” When the match started, Scholl’s trademark comedy began – first he tripped over the bottom rope, then during a sequence of exchanges he kept calling his counters, only to have Phoenix counter them! Finally, Scholl slammed Phoenix to the mat and did push-ups off his back before rolling him over for a 2. They traded more holds with Scholl once again loudly calling his counters and Phoenix turning them right back on him. It wasn’t until Scholl began choking Phoenix in the ropes that he stopped joking around. He rocked Phoenix with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and concentrated his attack on Phoenix’ back. Phoenix fought back but in the exchange of forearms in the corner, Scholl landed an elbow to his opponent’s nose that had Phoenix gushing blood. Fans were irate as Scholl climbed shakily to the top rope but Phoenix responded with a bulldog from the top for a 2 count. The two then traded roll-up cover attempts that ended with Scholl on top, holding the ropes for leverage to get the pin. As Scholl danced around the ring crying “I won! I won!” Kris Law came to ringside and pointed out that Scholl had to cheat to do it. He warned Scholl that if he interfered in Law’s title match later on the card and caused him to lose, NSW officials would grant Law a Fans Bring the Weapons Match against Scholl next month. This match was pretty funny as one might expect with Scholl in the ring. Fans seem to enjoy his clumsy antics but Phoenix wasn’t laughing about his bloody nose. It was disturbing that no one saw fit to wipe up the blood from the mat before the next encounter. Something many wrestlers commented on when they climbed into the stained ring for their matches.

Alex York vs Devon Parkside – It was announced at the start of this match that Scotty O’Shea would not be appearing in the 4-way battle for the Cruiserweight strap and the winner of this match would take his place. While that news made Parkside happy, he was livid about the blood in the ring and showed disdain to his opponent, spitting on him during the introductions. I expected York to attack immediately after that but he waited for the bell to ring before beginning with a trade off of armbars!??! I’ve got to question York’s fighting instincts to take a gob of saliva and not start swinging. Parkside quickly gained the advantage but York came back with a big running kick off the ropes to Parkside’s head for a 2 count. He followed with a standing flip body press for another 2 but Parkside shrugged him off and responded with an eye gouge. After blatantly choking York in the corner, Parkside hit a suplex and laid in some punches, pausing only to choke York some more. Catching York in a bearhug, Parkside yelled that he would break him in half but York finally broke the hold with an inverted atomic drop. Things heated up quick after that as York unleashed his speed but Parkside responded in kind and his high impact maneuvers, particularly his double stomps were far more effective. Eventually, Parkside hit a suplex from the second rope and pinned York for the win and the spot in the 4-way match. York’s Generation Now cohorts, Sean Cassidy and Corey Mason helped him to the back. This match didn’t click with the fans at all. In fact, they farted on it. Nothing really special made it stand out as it was a formulaic encounter between two high flyers. After Parkside’s pre-match rant and spitting on his opponent, I expected a slugfest from York but he failed to deliver. Considering a title shot was at stake I’m surprised at the lack of intensity in this match. Parkside was disdainful and cruel but didn’t seem focused on securing the victory as he gave York plenty of opportunities to come at him. Lucky for him that York’s head seemed to be anywhere but in the match.

NSW Intercities Championship: Mark Shaw (C) vs Kris Law – The crowd woke up quickly when Kris Law came out for this match against Mark the “Urban Warrior” Shaw. The two are very familiar with each other and showed obvious respect with a handshake to start. A test of strength was won easily by Shaw and the early moments saw his power advantage frustrate the challenger. With the crowd cheering him on, Law nailed a lariat that put Shaw down for a 2. Many more near falls from both competitors followed in quick succession as they traded high impact slams and moves. Eventually, Shaw gained the upper hand and rolled Law to the outside where he continued the attack with a DDT on the floor. Rolling the challenger back in the ring, Shaw delivered 3 suplexes and came off the top rope with an elbow but still couldn’t get the pin. Shaw missed a charge into the corner and moments later he found himself flipped over the ropes, spilling heavily to the floor after a nasty bump on the apron. To his credit he picked himself up quickly and scaled the ropes from the outside but his attempted dive was met with a dropkick from Law. While the two traded punches, Brett Scholl showed up and sat with a chair on the entrance ramp. Law landed his big bulldog on the Champ but noticed Scholl and started jawing at him. Shaw recovered and whipped Law into the corner before charging in after him. Law pulled the ref into the way of Shaw and the official crumpled to the mat. Scholl entered the ring and pasted Shaw with the chair, shattering it over his head. Then he leveled Law and rolled him on top of Shaw. Scholl revived the ref who counted the pin, awarding the title to Law. Scholl left screaming that no way was he going to be in a Fans Bring the Weapons match and since he didn’t cause Law to lose, I guess he won’t have to be. Law seemed confused but Shaw took the loss in stride, even shaking Law’s hand. The crowd gave both a loud ovation. A good solid match that worked on many levels; it’s a credit to Law’s popularity that his presence alone was reason enough to rouse the fans from the slumber the previous encounter had left them in. The screw job finish at the end was weird but serves to further the storyline between Law and Scholl. I hope this doesn’t mean former champ Shaw gets lost in the shuffle because when he is on his game, like he was tonight, he’s very good indeed. After this performance, it’s hard to believe these two guys were in the LLWA tag team mess at that organizations last show.

Logan Savage vs Jessy Jones vs Paul Wright – This unadvertised match was a bonus for fans. Resident NSW bad guy, Logan Savage, in a 3-way with 2 PWA stars. Jones is the current reigning PWA Internet Champion and Wright is quite possibly the whitest man on the planet. Something fans were quick to point out when he took off his ring jacket to reveal wrestling’s ugliest singlet and palest legs. Wright brought his giant book of wrestling rules with him and stashed it on the apron. He quickly invited Savage to join him in a 2 on 1 effort against Jones. The fans immediately rallied behind Jones as he took the fight to both his opponents. Wright bailed to the outside while Jones delivered a corner punch countdown to Savage. When Wright returned Jones dropped Savage to the canvas and leveled Wright with a headbutt. Wright fell with his face in Savage’s crotch and Jones began stomping his ass, causing Wright’s head to rise and fall. This generated a huge pop from the fans. Eventually, Wright and Savage were able to work together against Jones and finally put him down with a double atomic drop. They argued over who would get to pin “The History Maker” and settled on taking turns choking him in the ropes. Wright also took the opportunity to smash Jones in the head with his heavy book of wrestling rules. Jones continued to fight back but Savage and Wright kept working together to put him back on the mat. They also continued to miss pin opportunities by arguing over who got the honors. Finally, Savage poked Wright in the eye and it appeared their alliance was broken. Jones knocked their skulls together and delivered a stunner to Wright. Savage surprised Jones and dumped him out of the ring before scooping up a stunned Wright and delivering a running powerslam for the pin and the win. Jones re-entered the ring and offered Savage a handshake but gave him a kick to the gut and a headbutt instead. Jones then grabbed Wright’s Book of wrestling rules and beat his PWA compatriot with it all the way to the back. Short, with tons of comedy, this match entertained everyone in the NSW Hall of Justice. It seemed only fitting that The History Maker, Jessy Jones, would make an appearance on this historic last free show by NSW in Hamilton.

Spike Hammer vs Cody Shore – Hammer was the shorter of the two but outweighed his opponent who has some sort of Aquaman gimmick going. He looks like he’s wearing a wet suit or something. At the bell, Hammer just leveled Shore with a clothesline, following that with big chops and a splash in the corner. Shore looked like a parade float fell on him. He recovered quickly and avoided a few moves but Hammer eventually flattened him again with another clothesline. Hammer’s a big guy and there is some serious impact to his moves. He was a little too sure that he had Shore under control however and got surprised with a spinebuster that put him on the mat for the first time in the match. Hammer was up quick and snagged Shore in a full nelson but Cody broke the hold and hoisted the big man up for a Samoan drop. After an exchange of forearms, Shore hit a jawbreaker and a clothesline. Both men were down and barely made it up before the 10 count. Hammer flipped Shore over his back but Shore landed on his feet and in an amazing move pulled off a belly to back suplex on the big man for a 2 count. Hammer snuck in a low blow to slow Shore down. Hammer came back on the offensive but Shore blocked most of his hold attempts so Spike started laying in clubbing forearms and brutal kicks to the head. Shore was launched into the corner buckles and tossed to the outside. Hammer then threw himself through the ropes in a suicide dive that had to be seen to be believed. The crowd responded with the first “Holy shit” chant of the night. Back inside the ring, Hammer delivered a thundering side slam for a 2. Both men were slow to rise but Shore was quicker and landed a full nelson slam for a 2 of his own. Hammer still pressed the attack and powered Shore up onto the turnbuckles before hitting a side slam off the second rope. Ignoring a pin attempt, Hammer once again hauled Shore up onto the corner ropes. A miscue in balance as he scaled the ropes himself left Spike vulnerable and Shore capitalized with a sunset flip off the top that launched the big man halfway across the ring. Shore quickly leaped on him and scored the pinfall victory. The crowd showered both men with prolonged cheers as they shook hands in the ring. This was a great match! Easily the best of the night up to that point, with incredible high impact moves from both guys and no bullshit; just a straight ahead, straight up wrestling match that had fans going nuts for both competitors. Sometimes, when lower card matches shine so bright there is heat in the back and from what I hear, this time was no exception, but from a fan’s perspective, this match delivered on all counts. Hammer continues to amaze me with his agility and stamina and Shore impressed the hell out of me. Seeing those two men stand in the ring and accept the thunderous applause for their efforts was a special moment.

Intermission: A brief 10 minute break gave fans a chance to hit the merchandising tables for NSW DVDs and to purchase raffle tickets. The top prize was free admission to all future NSW events at Unit 13. Oops! I mean the Hall of Justice. Other prizes included autographed DVDs and a poster signed by all the NSW stars. As Mrs Id is a big Michael Elgin fan, I made sure to pick up a copy of his DVD: Elgin Unreal Vol. 1.

NSW Tag Team Championship: Mike Stevens & “Unreal” Michael Elgin (C) vs Beauty & the Beast (HHV & Danny Magnum) w/Kyle Davenport – The heel threesome made their usual cocky entrance (and HHV made his now customary pass at Mrs Id) while the crowd showered them with catcalls and taunts. HHV got on the mic and proceeded to tell everyone that there would be a glorious victory party after the match but only the ladies he picked from the crowd to pleasure him later would be attending. All this was done to the accompaniment of perhaps the world’s loudest “H.I.V.” chant. When defending champs Stevens and Elgin hit the entrance ramp the place erupted in cheers. Magnum and HHV quickly bailed to the outside leaving their manager Davenport alone in the ring. Elgin and Stevens grabbed him and administered the wedgie from hell to the screaming KD. There’s little doubt that they pulled his underwear so far up the crack of his ass that he will be burping cotton for a month. When the match started it was Stevens and HHV trading face slaps and milking the crowd for cheers. Magnum tagged himself in and beat Stevens down; no need to shill for cheers from “the Beast.” Some old school ref distraction gave the heels the opportunity to double up on Stevens and they did so eagerly. Eventually, Stevens made the tag and Elgin came in like a house on fire. Shrugging off a double team he whipped HHV into the corner and flattened him with his own partner. Elgin then scaled the ropes and landed a solid double kick to both bad guys. Magnum rolled to the apron and Elgin beat on HHV before flipping him over the ropes to the outside. Magnum wasn’t safe on the apron either as Elgin nailed him with a springboard clothesline, sending him crashing to the floor as well. The fans were going nuts as Stevens came off the turnbuckles with a big splash to the outside. Beauty & the Beast had barely picked themselves up when Elgin sailed over the top with a double splash of his own. Back inside, the champs continued to dominate with quick tags until finally HHV tried to slow things down with the offer of a handshake. Eglin chose instead to deliver a corner punch countdown that the fans were only too eager to participate in. Magnum broke it up though and choked Elgin on the ropes. The heels once again settled into double teams while Davenport distracted the ref but it worked to their disadvantage as the official missed some of their own pin attempts. Elgin slowly withered under the combined assault and came out on the short end of an exchange of big blows with Magnum, who then locked on a sleeper. With the crowd raising the roof in support, Elgin fought back and elbowed his way out of the hold. A side suplex left both powerhouses down on the mat. When Elgin finally tagged Stevens the crowd got even louder. Stevens cleaned house on the heels until, while spinning around with a screaming HHV on his shoulder, a collision with the official knocked the ref senseless. Suddenly, Timothy Dalton, Prodigy and Adam Reed rushed the ring. Dalton nailed Elgin with a chair while Reed and Prodigy worked over Stevens. Leaving Beauty & the Beast back in control the threesome returned to the back. HHV covered Stevens as the groggy official made the count but Stevens kicked out! Elgin blind-tagged Stevens and leveled HHV before coming off the top rope with an unreal elbow drop. Stevens and Magnum brawled outside until Stevens whipped the Beast into the post, taking him out of the match. The Champs then doubled up on the hapless HHV, driving him into the mat with an elevated spiked DDT. One three count later and the popular champions had retained their titles! Elgin then cut a promo warning Dalton that his days were numbered. The Champs took the accolades from the cheering fans as Beauty & the Beast limped to the back. No doubt about it; you ask anyone but Davenport, HHV & Magnum and they’ll tell you this was the match of the night. The history between these teams and the incredible popularity of Elgin and Stevens brought the fans and performers together in an exhibition of Indy wrestling at its best. An awesome match!

Immunity Battle Royal – The ring announcer failed to tell anyone just what the winner of this battle royal would be granted immunity from. I’m assuming it’s related to the upcoming lottery of LLW/NSW stars to see who goes to what roster. The match started with two guys and another participant entered every 30 seconds. First out was Corey Mason, accompanied by Generation Now cohort Alex York. “The Talent” Dan Morris was next with his manager Sapphire. Morris got on the stick, said he wouldn’t soil his hands “wrestling for a bunch of stupid inbreds” and left the ring. In short order, the remaining participants entered the ring. They were, in order of entry: Justin Sane, Sean Cassidy, Draven, Kex, Matt the Dancing Kid & Toste. As battle royals go, this was nothing special. As might be expected, Cassidy and Mason worked together since they’re both Generation Now members. York interfered at every opportunity but was ineffectual in causing any eliminations. In every battle royal there’s always at least one guy who eliminates himself and this time it was Draven… but I think the idea was that someone else threw him over. Anyway, the order of elimination was: Toste by Steve Brown who beat the crap out of him with a kendo stick before he even got in the ring as payback for Toste’s interference in Brown’s match. Brown then tossed Toste into the ring, climbed in after him and immediately fired him over the top rope. Kex was sent back to the Enchanted Forest by Justin Sane. Draven threw himself over the top but Matt was dancing nearby so I guess he got credit for that. In a strange double-cross, Cassidy was eliminated by Mason who then said “fuck you” to both York & Cassidy so maybe this spells the end of Generation Now? Mason then turfed Matt leaving him and Justin Sane to fight it out. They both ended up over the top roe and battled at length on the apron before Sane finally dumped Mason to the floor. At this point, Morris came running back into the ring, knocked Sane from the apron and won the match.

NSW Cruiserweight Championship, 4-way Dance: Prodigy (C) w/Logan Savage & Steve Brown vs Devon Parkside vs Snapdragon vs Matt Bison w/Scotty O’Shea – Bison was the obvious crowd favorite. No explanation was given as to why O’Shea had pulled from the match since he was obviously well enough to at least make an appearance at ringside. I wasn’t surprised to see Savage and Brown accompany Prodigy as the NSW resident heavies always stick together. I knew also that the Champ was going into this match with an injured back so I expected him to take it easy in there. Of course, Prodigy doesn’t know what “taking it easy” means and went all out as usual. The match started with Snapdragon and Bison trading some quick exchanges with neither gaining a clear advantage. To his credit, Bison kept Snapdragon from pulling off any of his trademark flippity-do maneuvers. Prodigy entered the ring and despite being somewhat confused at first by Snapdragons speedy counters eventually hit a big lariat and a backbreaker on the masked man for a 2 count. Prodigy hit a suplex for another 2 count then Parkside tagged himself in. He too nailed Snapdragon with a suplex and a near fall then choked Dragon in the ropes. Action continued and when Prodigy and Bison faced off for the first time the crowd came alive. Bison was fighting Parkside and actually tagged Prodigy who elected to attack him instead of Parkside. All 4 guys battled in the ring until Prodigy and Parkside were both flipped over the ropes. Bison and Snapdragon followed with simultaneous dives over the top. Their brief partnership ended back in the ring as Bison controlled Snapdragon until a suplex and an enzeguri from the masked man leveled him. Parkside entered and continued the abuse of Bison until Snapdragon tagged back in, hitting Parkside with a big kick to the head in the corner. Parkside responded with a brutal lariat and pinned Snapdragon. The ref broke the count at 2 even though Dragon was still flat on the mat and seemed confused about what kind of match he was officiating. He finally slapped the mat a third time to eliminate Snapdragon and the match became a 3-way. Bison, Prodigy and Parkside then turned up the heat and multiple pin attempts and beatings followed. The crowd chanted “Lets go Bison” throughout most of this action as Prodigy and Parkside began doubling up on the fan favorite. Bison managed to dump Prodigy over the top and rolled up Parkside, eliminating him from the match. Bison swarmed Prodigy and near falls had the fans on the edge of their seats. A top rope legdrop hurt Bison more than it did his target and he barely made the cover for yet another 2 count. Prodigy fought back and they traded high impact blows until Bison hit 3 quick 2 counts in a row. Prodigy delivered a back kick to the nutsack which everyone but the ref saw and nailed his Prodigy Plunge to finally pin Bison and retain his title. It was refreshing to see that the 3 “extras” at ringside didn’t contribute to this match and let the 4 guys settle it in the ring. The ref clearly seemed overwhelmed and I question the decision to not use the more experienced official. Things flowed a lot smoother once Snapdragon was out of the mix. With that many bodies it means that guys have to find ways to stall so they’re out of the way of the only true high-flyer when he makes his big moves. I’d like to thank Matt Bison for grounding the guy and forcing him to mat wrestle! (Pun intended.) Parkside did his job well, rising only high enough to play his part and letting Bison and Prodigy deliver the marquee performance. Clearly, the fans want to see Prodigy and Bison one on one. Make it happen NSW!

NSW Heavyweight Championship, 4-Way Sudden Death: Timothy Dalton (C) w/Pandora vs James Gracey vs St. Stephen Elias w/Deanna Conda vs Adam Reed w/Mercy & Steve Brown – Before the match started Pandora got into Deanna Conda’s face. Well, actually… her chest because the size difference between the two is so great. Mercy snuck up behind Conda and a schoolyard push from Pandora spilled the bigger woman to the mat. Mercy and Pandora bailed before Conda could exact revenge but the Amazon would get her revenge later in the match. At the bell, Elias and Gracey shook hands and in a surprise move, Reed shook hands with then too. Dalton suckered Elias and Gracey into attacking Reed by pushing Reed into them after they had turned around and claiming Reed had attacked them. The match settled into various combinations of Reed, Gracey and Elias battling it out as reigning Champ Dalton avoided most contact. He did take every opportunity to get a few shots in on Gracey while he was down and Reed was outside introducing Elias’ head to the ringpost. Eventually, Gracey and Elias settled into a lengthy exchange of very smooth chain wrestling while Reed & Dalton watched from the apron. Dalton started jawing at me about telling the world how great he is and Elias & Gracey nailed him with a double dropkick to the head. After that the action got very fast as all 4 guys traded high impact moves and pin attempts. At one point Dalton hit Gracey with a lungblower, low blow and Canadian destroyer variation that had Gracey on strange street. He couldn’t go for the pin though as Elias quickly slammed him to the mat also. With Dalton and Gracey down, Reed hit Elias with a Yakuza kick to the head and locked Dalton in a Boston crab. Elias and Gracey applied armlocks on Dalton at the same time. It was strange seeing Reed working over Dalton as they belong to the same clique. Elias and Gracey delivered a double bulldog to Reed and hoisted Dalton up in the corner. As they climbed the ropes, Reed recovered and in a move Steve Brown at ringside described to me as a “Chlamydia Bomb” Reed delivered simultaneous power bombs to Elias and Gracey while they superplexed Dalton. It soon became apparent why Brown had come to visit me; Deanna Conda was making a beeline for Mercy. She scooped the smaller woman up and slammed her twice at ringside then swatted Pandora for good measure on her way back to her own side of the ring. I don’t blame Brown a bit for getting out of Conda’s way. She is a very formidable woman and I wouldn’t want to have her pounding on me either. Anyway, back in the ring Elias and Gracey were still suffering the effects of the Chlamydia Bomb and Reed was pounding in earnest on Dalton. Pandora, seeing her man on the verge of losing his title, jumped up on the apron and distracted Reed by displaying her ample cleavage. Dalton quickly rolled Reed up for the 3 count and the win. Immediately after the bell, Conda slapped Pandora silly. Suddenly, Michael Elgin appeared on the entrance ramp and the heels all powdered. Elgin, still pissed over the chair shot he got from Dalton earlier in the show announced that next month, NSW had granted him a one on one match with the Champ. When the cheering about that news died down, Elias announced that he and Gracey had been drafted to LLW and this was their last NSW appearance. This match was chock full of exciting sequences and hard hitting moves. The fans were hot throughout and the assorted seconds at ringside kept their antics to a minimum which only made the times they did get into it that much more effective. I’d love to see Conda, Mercy and Pandora in a 3-way dance. (Or even a 3-way Mazola party for that matter. – I’m kidding!) Two things struck me as odd though… Elias, normally a brilliant comedic wrestler, played it straight throughout the match and he acquitted himself well. Perhaps he decided to get serious because it was his last NSW match. Reed pounding on Dalton was another surprise. These guys are usually inseparable as they, along with Prodigy and Brown, comprise NSW’s strongest heel faction. Reed didn’t show at ringside during any of the other matches like he usually does either and Logan Savage did, which is not usual. It will be interesting to see if things remain solid between them or if Reed has grown tired of playing Dalton’s stooge. At least he’s not the only one of the group without a title anymore since Brown dropped his Just Pure Whale belt to Garcia. (Did I say: Just Pure Whale? That title still belongs to Brown. He lost his Just Pure Wrestling belt to Garcia.)

Final thoughts: For their last free show NSW delivered a solid action filled card that gave almost everyone on the roster a chance to step in the ring. Four good title matches and one great one (the tag match) and a smoking singles match between Hammer and Shore had fans on the edge of their seats. NSW seems to like the 4-way dance and their fans certainly enjoy them. Sometimes multi-man matches can fall apart but that didn’t happen this time. It almost did in the cruiserweight 4-way because of the inexperienced referee and Snapdragons flippity-do stuff. Thankfully, Prodigy, Bison and Parkside were able to keep it together. Not to rag on Snapdragon, but busting out those moves more than once in a multi-man match is a bit much. Sure, it’s exciting; it’s just not very believable. He’s scheduled to face Cruiserweight Champ, Prodigy, at the upcoming “Crisis on the Caffeinated Earth” show so we’ll see if he can pull it off in a singles match with better effect. There is one specific thing to rag on about the show – the ring announcer. Aside from the fact that he demonstrated all the charisma and charm of a toenail clipping, he looked like he spent the day hanging out in front of the local 7-11. Lose the baggy shorts and ball cap and dress the part. If NSW is going to step up their game and provide entertainment for the paying public they’d do well to provide a ring announcer who doesn’t look like he just climbed out of the audience. It’s a small detail but it’s the little things that will need trimming up if NSW is to make a viable run of it as a “legit” fed. Their in-ring product is certainly worth the $10 they will now charge for admission but wrestling shows are coming out the ying-yang in Ontario right now so everything counts. NSW and LLW have their work cut out for them in the coming months. Will success come? Time will tell. One thing’s for sure… the wizard of id will be there to tell the story.

Photo credits: Mrs Id

Check out the NSW website: http://www.nswwrestling.cjb.net/

Contact the wizard of id: zapflash@sympatico.ca