Southern Championship Wrestling

Brutal Battle 2004

DeBary, Florida
July 17, 2004

Match 1 - Ryze defeated "Untouchable" Leon Scott w/ Tiziana in the semi-finals of the tournament to crown the #1 contender for the SCW Southern Heavyweight Championship.

They opened the show up with the semi-finals of the tournament which was definitely a good idea seeing how two men were going to have to wrestle again later on in the show. Also, the crowd was into it because the match actually had significance. Scott starts it off by almost immediately working the leg. Scott uses multiple leg locks to allow Ryze to sell the leg injury. Scott also begins drilling Ryze with some vicious looking cross faces that looked to legit anger Ryze. From what I've ever seen from Ryze, he doesn't seem to like to work stiff, and it makes his strikes look more weak than others because he is so much bigger than his opponents, yet they are hitting him harder than he is hitting them. I think one of those cross faces must have pissed off Ryze a bit because he responded with some decent strikes back. That's the way he should be all the time. Unfortunately, Ryze eventually went back to his normal strikes. As for Scott, he looked to be working more stiff than usual. I'm a fan of Scott's work, but if he starts working this way, then I'd gladly change in the old Scott for this new one. Anyway, the finish is Ryze hitting his hanging tree slam for the win. After the match, the ring announcer calls for security to help Ryze to the back. They're trying to sell Ryze's leg injury so that the fans believe that the winner of the other semi-final match has a shot of defeating Ryze in the finals. I don't know if there was anyone in the building that thought Ryze was going to go under in the finals.

Match 2 - Thump Dupree defeated "Classy" Chris Nelson w/ CCN Security Fish in the semi-finals of the tournament to crown the #1 contender for the SCW Southern Heavyweight Championship.

Thump Dupree comes out and harasses the crowd as usual. Here's where SCW's Brutal Battle 2004 takes a brief break and becomes the Chris Nelson Show. Nelson comes out singing his usual "Copa Cabana". He begins to ask fans questions during his walk to the ring. I must say that it's a funny sight to see the entire place in stitches and having Dupree flip out because he just wants to wrestle. After what seems like a good 10 minutes, Nelson finally gets into the ring. If you think the wrestling match is going to start now, then you are terribly mistaken. As is tradition with Nelson, he does his Mexican Roll for the fans and moons the referee and crowd. Dupree does a Mexican Roll to prove that he can do one, but he gets clotheslined by Nelson afterward and Dupree powders. Now we have Nelson doing a cartwheel in the ring. This stuff is too funny. I'm very big on seeing technically sound wrestling, but I also believe that there is a place on any show for this comedy stuff. No one is better at it than Chris Nelson. To prove my point, I'd like to point out that when Dupree and Nelson were finally about to lock up, Nelson went in for a kiss on the lips to Dupree! He actually kissed him. The crowd is losing it at this point. The amazing thing about Nelson's matches is that so much goes on during his matches that you actually forget what happened, wrestling-wise. That is the case in this match. I do remember the finish though. Dupree rolls up Nelson, and he has his feet on the ropes for leverage while getting the 3 count. Following the match, Nelson fires his security guy Fish who was standing in front of Dupree's feet while Nelson was being pinned. Once again, some classic stuff from Nelson.

Match 3 - The Heartbreak Xpress w/ "Gorgeous" Gary Garvin defeated David Mercury & Sam Stash w/ Damien Angel

The Heartbreak Xpress come out to their usual heel heat. Mercury and Stash come out to a decent pop. I've seen Mercury and Stash work singles matches, but I have never seen them work as a tag team. They actually wrestle in other promotions as a tag team, but this was the first time, I believe, that they have worked together for SCW. Early in the match, after one of the members of the Heartbreak Xpress powders to regroup with his partner and manager, Stash climbed the top rope and leaped onto the Xpress that cleared my entire front row and spilled numerous sodas as well. Mercury looked really good in this match. I don't think I've ever seen him as good as he was on this night. I remember one drop toe hold that was as good as I've ever seen in quite some time. He was back on his feet almost instantly. What's sad is that I came out of this matched bruised. Mercury was thrown out of the ring and the heel of his right boot hit me in my left knee slightly bruising it. Can I sue SCW for pain and suffering? Heartbreak Xpress pick up the win when Sean Davis and Mercury fight to the outside, drawing the referee and Damien Angel along with them. This allowed Garvin to toss Phil Davis taped up knuckles thus knocking out Stash. After the match, the Xpress mention that the Hellraizers are next. I'm hoping so because I've been waiting for that rematch for quite some time. I'd like to see the Heartbreak Xpress go over this time.

-- Following the match, Team Vision came out with Steve Corino. MSL cut a promo telling Vordell Walker that Steve Corino is going to take him out. He also put over his tag match with Manny Montana against Dagon Briggs and Johnny Schumacher. It was one of MSL's best promos to date. They teased Corino cutting a promo, but it didn't happen. Don't worry, Corino definitely makes up for it by what he has to say at the end of the night.

Match 4 - Josh Rich defeated SCW Southern Cruiserweight champion Aaron Epic to become the new SCW Southern Cruiserweight champion.

The stipulation for this match was that if Rich didn't win the title he would have to shave his head bald. Epic comes out sporting some nice looking custom shorts. This match starts off with some chain wrestling. We now have two guys that are going to wrestle the entire match. The match itself was pretty good. Epic had several comedy spots during the match. At first, it was fine, but it then became too much. He continued his spot of asking the crowd how many times we want him to chop Rich. I'm actually a big fan of this because the crowd gets into it and counts his chops out loud. I'm a fan of Epic's in-ring work, but I just think his gimmick needs some tweaking. I'm not quite sure what his gimmick is. One show he's out throwing candy with a ridiculous hat on. The next show he's out with totally different music than before and totally different gear. I believe that he feels the same way. Why else would there be different changes show after show? I think he's trying to find that gimmick that works. And I don't mean that as a knock on Epic. I think once he finds that gimmick that works, he's going to be that much better. Anyway, we got some nice spots from Rich. He hit his patented Shoulder Tackle of Doom except that it was to the outside of the ring instead. He also broke a new move out of the bag, for him, by hitting Epic with the Falcon Arrow. I particularly liked this match because I like cruiserweights who are able to wrestle matches rather than having to do a high spot fest. Rich picks up the win when he hits Epic with a new move which I'm not sure what it's named. He went for a back suplex but instead dropped Epic on his face as he sat out. We have a new champion and Rich keeps his hair and ends his enormous losing streak. While celebrating with the title, Rich is bleeding on his forehead. It appeared to be hardway. He cuts a promo and puts the fans down. It's your typical "I'm Josh Rich and you're not, so you all suck" promo. It was nothing of importance.

Intermission

Match 5 - Johnny Schumacher & Dagon Briggs w/ Se7en defeated Team Vision (Manny Montana & Mister Saint Laurent) w/ So Cal Val.

This is a rematch of the encounter they had on May 22. It was actually being billed as a brutal battle because there were no holds barred and no time limit for this match. The previous match was excellent and had become known for the beating that Schumacher took. Well, they managed to surpass that beating with this match. Schumacher was getting stretched, chopped and forearmed to death. He's not the biggest of guys, so when he takes a beating it looks far worse than anything you may have seen before. At first, I was shocked with the amount of punishment Schumacher took during the match, but I spoke with him after the match and he said that he was perfectly fine with the stiffness and it was actually how they had planned the match to be. Hey, who am I to argue if the guy that got beat up is fine with it? Besides, he returned one of the stiffest forearms to MSL that I have ever seen. I'm not so sure that MSL sold the forearm but rather was really hurt by it. Anyway, the match started off with a bang as Briggs and Montana displayed some beautiful wristlock reversals. It's usually good stuff when these two face each other. In one spot, Dagon had Montana in the corner and came flying in with a flipping heel kick. He drilled Montana square in the face. There were submission holds galore in this match, most of which came from Montana. Speaking of submission holds, any time Schumacher or Briggs had a submission hold on Montana he reversed it, and any time they had one on MSL, Montana would run in and break it up. I'm not sure what this means, but I just thought it was an interesting observation made by a friend of mine. Montana and MSL worked over Schumacher for what seemed like an eternity. Schumacher gets the hot tag and Briggs cleans house. Montana gets clotheslined over the top rope and Briggs starts punching MSL in the corner. Montana walks around the ring and Schumacher meets him on the ring apron. This leads to a sick spot as Montana suplexed Schumacher out of the ring and onto the floor. There aren't too many guys in this business willing to take that bump. In the ring we have Briggs hit an Ace Crusher on MSL for the win. Overall, it was a very exciting match. Briggs and Montana looked good as usual, and this was definitely the best showing that MSL has had thus far. He's starting to come into his own in the ring. Schumacher is starting to become that baby face that all of the young girls seem to love.

Match 6 - Ryze defeated Thump Dupree in the finals of the tournament to crown the #1 contender for the SCW Southern Heavyweight championship.

Ryze comes out selling the injured left leg. Dupree comes out and makes fun of the crowd including myself. He calls me the loser that types. At first, I thought it was a work, but I'm beginning to think that it's a shoot now. Anyway, this was a really short match. Once again, we have the heel, Dupree, working on Ryze's knee. For whatever reason, Dupree powdered, so Ryze followed him out by jumping off of the ring apron and running after him around the ring. I guess he must have forgotten that his leg hurt. This was an awkward match-up. Ryze is more of an old school style of wrestler, and I think that Dupree is better suited not working those slower paced matches, and I think the clash of styles is what made me not really like this match. Ryze wins with his hanging tree slam finisher. This tournament was very predictable. There wasn't one person in that building that thought Dupree was going to go over in the finals. Now that Team Vision seemed to have their blow off match with Dagon Briggs and Johnny Schumacher, I'm kind of feeling a Briggs/Dupree program for the future. I'm not sure if it has been done yet, but it just seems like it would be an interesting feud. As for Ryze, he gets his SCW Southern Heavyweight title match against Jason Hexx at the next show in August.

Match 7 - "The Shooter" Vordell Walker defeated Steve Corino

Corino comes out with So Cal Val, Team Vision's manager/valet. The story line is that Corino was hired to take out Vordell Walker because they don't think that MSL could do it by himself. Walker comes out to a mixed reception. He's usually the most over guy in the company, but when you bring in an icon like Steve Corino you're going to lose even some of your more hardcore fans for a night. The crowd was rather quiet at first because Corino and Walker were trying to feel each other out. From the start, you could tell that there was a heavy Corino influence in the match as it played out in more of a style accustomed to wrestling in Japan. Walker begins kicking Corino in the back of the leg to which Corino responds with kicks of his own. They exchanged numerous kicks. The middle of the match was Corino working over Walker's leg and repeatedly kicking him in the back. Corino would kick him in the back and asked the crowd if they'd like to see another one. The crowd would pop but only to be teased by Corino as he put on a rear chinlock instead. Walker eventually gains the upper hand, but only for a moment. I'm not sure what move Walker hit Corino with, but Corino popped right up displaying fighting spirit. The crowd popped big time for it, and it actually surprised me a bit that the crowd responded the way that they did. Around this point in the match while Val distracted the referee, Manny Montana did a run-in and hit Walker with his patented Dragon Suplex. I was afraid something like this was going to happen. Last month Montana hit Walker with a Dragon Suplex helping MSL beat him for the SCW Florida title, but this time Walker kicked out after the Dragon Suplex. A Dragon Suplex helps MSL beat Walker but not Corino? From this point on, the match was full of several false finishes as Corino hit a Northern Lights Bomb on Walker, but he kicked out. He also hit a sweet looking STO on Walker that also resulted in a two count. This resulted in a humorous moment as Corino kept asking the crowd what is next. For instance, he was like "Now what move is next?" Someone would respond something really dumb from the crowd, so Corino would be like, "No, it's an S-T-O." We get one more Northern Lights Bomb from Corino but only to have Walker kick out again. Walker ends up holding Corino like he's going to give him a fall away slam but swings him around into an STO-like move for the win.

-- Following the match, Corino asks for the microphone to say something. A drunk lady in the crowd starts screaming at Corino to which he politely insults the lady on the mic. Corino says that he's wrestled all over the world and that when he wrestles for indy promotions he never knows what to expect. To sum up that portion of his speech (I'm not going to call it a promo because he totally broke kayfabe) he pretty much said that he goes into indy bookings not knowing what to expect and that he is generally weary about what he is getting into. He said that you go into it putting your life in the hands of somebody that you don't know, so you become concerned. He then stated that for 20+ minutes he put his life in Vordell Walker's hands and he went out and put on one hell of a show. He put over Vordell big time, and you can tell it was sincere. He told the crowd to get their autographs and pictures from Vordell now because in a few years he's going to be wrestling on Monday nights. Wow, those were really big words from someone who is held in high regard by the wrestling world. The speech was so moving that it actually brought Walker to tears as well as some fans in attendance. Corino and Walker bowed to each other and then hugged. Walker grabbed the microphone and thanked Corino and the crowd for all the support. It was one of those moments that made you extremely proud to be a wrestling fan.

Final Thoughts

-- I'm not going to beat around the bush. This was, by far, SCW's best show that I've seen. I'd be willing to bet that it rivaled any other show that they had prior to my attending their shows. SCW seems to struggle with their main events, but that definitely was not the case this night. Walker/Corino was a fantastic match and it was my match of the night. The "Brutal Battle" between Team Vision and Schumacher/Briggs was an extremely close second. In fact, some in attendance said that the sheer brutality of that match made it their match of the night. Either way, SCW came away with four decent matches in one night. A title changed hands, a #1 contender was announced for their heavyweight title and they set up the much anticipated program between Manny Montana and Vordell Walker. A lot was accomplished on this card, and it leaves them in a good position for their next show in August.

-- Now, I'd like to comment on Steve Corino and his impact on this show. Corino is a much respected wrestler and is an icon to most indy wrestlers. For him to say the things that he said about Vordell Walker and the SCW locker room (He pretty much said that they all busted their asses tonight), it really meant a lot for their promotion. Corino gives instant credibility to Vordell Walker and I think this night is going to be looked at as the night that Vordell Walker officially became a star. I've been saying for a few months now that Vordell Walker is going to be something special, and Steve Corino echoed my sentiments. I've always deeply respected Steve Corino, but somehow I managed to gain a little more respect for him because of his actions at this show.

Will Rivera