Post by lgoodman on Jun 2, 2007 10:57:05 GMT -5
Great Championship Wrestling celebrated their 3rd anniversary drawing a crowd of 225 to the Gr8 Sk8 Plex Wednesday night. It was the best gate the company has done since relocating to Phenix City, Alabama. The now traditional War Games main event saw Bo Oates’ Hierarchy triumph over Quentin Michaels Incorporated. As a result, Oates was named the new commissioner of GCW.
On May 28, 2005, GCW was at their zenith. Their 1st anniversary show, headlined by a Dusty Rhodes/Tully Blanchard cage match along with the War Games match, drew a crowd of over 600. Then known as Georgia Championship Wrestling, the company was based across the river in Columbus at what was arguably the finest venue for independent wrestling anywhere in the Southeast. During the summer of 2005, they routinely drew over 300 to their weekly Saturday night shows.
Since then, the GCW saga has been stranger-than-fiction, starting in the aftermath of the 1st anniversary show when former GCW ring announcer Dan Masters was arrested for trespassing as he sat in Dusty Rhodes’ truck. Despite his success as booker, Bo Oates, son of original GCW owner Jerry Oates, was gone before the summer was out. Bo made no secret of the issues he had with his father. Jerry took over the book, but his tenure was neither financially or artistically successful. Owners Bill and Diane Hewes turned to their top babyface, Erik Watts, to handle the creative end. In October 2005, it came to light that someone other than the owners of GCW held rights to use the Georgia Championship Wrestling name. The promotion announced the name change coupled with plans to run shows outside the state of Georgia. GCW drew some good houses under Watts, but he was fired in April 2006 as the second anniversary show approached. An embittered Watts then did an interview portraying Jerry as an incompetent, undermining lowlife, and the Hewes as neophytes lacking clue one about the wrestling business. In September 2006, the Hewes announced that they were leaving Columbus. At the same time, Jerry disappeared from GCW, the Hewes were officially announced as the owners, and Quentin Michaels, formerly of Deep South Wrestling, emerged as the new booker.
Phenix City hasn’t exactly welcomed GCW with open arms. The promotion unknowingly walked into some nasty city politics. Problems meeting code to the city’s satisfaction forced the promotion to use the national guard armory on temporary basis. Then, there was the ridiculous deal where they tried to run a show in the parking lot, only to have the city shut them down for not providing an evacuation plan (for an outdoor show!) in advance. With the move to Phenix City, the weekly shows were shifted to Wednesdays. Crowds of late were said to be averaging less than 100.
As a wrestling building, the Gr8 Sk8 Plex is a mixed bag. The six-sided ring is cool. The sound system and entrance area are fine, but the lighting is a ghastly greenhouse fluorescent, and the ceiling is only 10 feet above the ring, too low for full scale aerial moves. It’s certainly a come down from their former state-of-the-art facility, but the building in Columbus was leased, and there was concern that the rug would be pulled out from under them, because the owner was facing charges of tax evasion. The Hewes would like to make some modifications to make the Skate Center a better venue for wrestling, but getting the city to approve them is another matter altogether.
All things considered, it was a reasonably good show in the ring. There were no great matches, but only one that sucked, and you had titles changing hands, midgets, women, and War Games featuring the top 10 guys in the promotion. GCW’s talent is as good as any indie in Georgia. It’s become something of a haven for for ex-members of the Deep South Wrestling roster. High Impact, Tracy Taylor, Johnny Swinger, Danny Gimondo, and Kevin Matthews have all appeared here after being released by WWE. Holdovers David Young and Chris Stevens are a kick ass tag team.
(1) The NOW (Vik Dalishus & Hale Collins) beat High Impact (Micah Taylor & Tony Santarelli) to win the GCW Tag Team Titles in 13:40. Santarelli has packed on some pounds since I last saw him in Deep South Wrestling. Collins’ act is strictly comedy. He was getting heat for his resemblance to Screech from “Saved by the Bell.” His energy reminded me of Steve Corino. Collins has no body, but he has the frame for a good physique with the proper dedication and nutritional supplements. Delishus trained at OVW. Not a great athlete by any stretch, but he knows how to work. High Impact’s early offense provided the best wrestling on the show. And so it should be. At the 8 minute mark, Dalishus delivered a chop block to Santarelli’s knee to start the heat. Santarelli propelled Delishus over the top to set up the hot tag. Taylor hung both members of the NOW in the tree of woe and dished out punishment. Taylor then bounced the head of Delishus off of Collins’ crotch, and NOW ended up in the dreaded 69 position. Delishus was toast after a High Impact combo. That’s when Caleb Konley interfered. Referee Scrappy McGowan appeared to see Konley in the ring. He never would have let something like that go in Deep South. Delishus pinned Taylor with a reverse roll up. The heels started beating on Impact, but Scotty Beach made the save.
Taylor said NOW stole the belt and demanded a rematch on the spot. Quentin Michaels came out. Michaels guaranteed that the new champions were unafraid of High Impact and made a counter offer. Michaels would sacrifice his spot in the War Games to the NOW, if Bo Oates would give his spot up to High Impact.
Diane Hewes got on the mic. There are no two ways about it, GCW is her baby. Oates was at her side. Michaels had Oates arrested and handcuffed at last week’s show for coming out of the crowd. Oates’ legal status wasn’t mentioned. I guess he’s out on bond. Hewes said their insurance wouldn’t allow non-wrestlers in the War Games anyway, and accepted Michaels’ offer with an added stipulation: if the Hierarchy won, then Oates would be the new GCW commissioner and if Michaels Inc. won, then Michaels would get the spot.
(2) Jonathan Davis beat Amien Rios and Randall Johnson to win the cruiserweight triple threat match (7:52). Davis is way over with the GCW fans. Being Mexican was enough to get him heat, but Rios is a good heel. Johnson has put some much needed meat on his bones. Match was mostly Davis and Rios. It was fast paced and spotty in more ways than one. They were small enough to pull off some top rope moves. Davis, by far the most spectacular of the bunch, got to shine early. Johnson and Rios gave Davis a double suplex and pulled each other off the pin. Davis crashed and burned on a 450. Rios powerbombed the both of them, but could pin neither. Rios destroyed Davis with a wheelbarrow half nelson head drop, but Johnson pulled the ref out. Rios gave Johnson a cradle suplex. Davis got a pop with a top rope variation of the 619. Davis won it with a flying huracanrana. Not the crispest of finishers, but the crowd appreciated it. A fan pretended to read Rios’ mind “Yo quiero a win. Que pasa?”
(3) Deathrow pinned John Bogie in a Last Man Standing Match after a Pepsi can to the skull (10:30). Chick Donovan was scheduled to be in Deathrow’s corner, but as seen on the big screen prior to the match, Deathrow left Donovan laying in a pool of blood in the dressing room. These guys have been feuding since the days when the promotion was located on the other side of the Chattahoochee. It was bad brawling galore, and the crowd was checked out for most of the match. The worst part is that they were staying down for long counts on fairly basic moves. Deathrow took a bump from the apron through a ringside table and just barely beat the ten count. They were brawling at ringside when Deathrow delivered the killing blow with a gimmicked can. Gimmicked or not, it was an impressive looking shot that got a big pop.
Deathrow’s male nurse, or whatever the hell he’s supposed to be, hit the ring to inject him with a sedative, but the forensic phenom dropped him on his head.
Michaels accompanied Melissa Coates to the ring for her scheduled match against Tracy Taylor. Taylor wasn’t there, so Michaels ordered the ref to award the GCW Women’s Title to Coates via forfeit. Michaels said Taylor was running scared. Coates said there wasn’t anybody tough enough to take her on. The crowd greeted the sight of Daffney with a strong pop.
(4) Melissa Coates (with Quentin Michaels) beat Daffney to win the GCW Women’s Title in 6:10. This match was laid out better than anything on the show. Just enough content to avoid overstaying their welcome. Daffney got off to quick start with a backslide. But Coates countered Daffney’s flying headscissors with a sitout facebuster. The crowd was getting on Coates pretty good here, with calls of “she’s the man” and “twisted sister.” Coates used a hair mare and a sitout fist drop for near falls. Daffney came back with a reverse DDT and it was both women down for a seven count. Crowd was chanting “Scream Queen” as Daffney made the comeback. Daffney climbed on the middle rope to deliver the 10 punches, but Coates cut her off with a sitout powerbomb for the three count. Coates posted Daffney after the match and did a swank posing routine with the belt.
(5) Puppet beat Little Kato in 10:35. The crowd was up for this. They had a pretty entertaining match until things fell apart a bit towards the finish. Kato is a flexible little bastard. He was able to rest his foot onto the top rope to stretch out his hamstrings. Kato bailed out after taking a sit down splash. A fan told him to grow up. Inside the ring, Kato hit a rolling neck snap for two. Puppet answered with a bulldog and a Vader bomb for near falls. Kato landed a spinning hook kick that sent Puppet to the outside. Kato started going for pins and got frustrated with referee Randy Ray’s slow counts. Kato made his point by imitating Ray and picking his nose between slaps of the mat. Kato landed an axe kick and applied a leg submission, but Puppet made the ropes. Puppet initiated a sunset flip from the apron. It turned out ugly. They did a spot with Kato running the ropes that didnt work much better. Puppet won it with a fireman’s carry drop.
(6) The Hierarchy (Chris Stevens & David Young & Scotty Beach & Micah Taylor & Tony Santarelli with Bo Oates) beat Michaels Incorporated (Johnny Swinger & Cru Jones & Caleb Konley & Vic Dalishus & Hale Collins with Quentin Michaels Esq.) in the War Games via submission when Beach forced Swinger to submit (23:34). If there was a coin toss to establish that the heels would have the man advantage, I missed it. I expected Young and Stevens to be over, but the pop for Beach was a surprise. The heat was strong. It was fairly tame for a War Games, and paled in comparison to any of the NWA Wildside versions. The low ceiling eliminated any possibility of a spectacular dive off the top of the cage, or any dramatic fighting up on top. The basic story was the heels capitalizing on the man advantage, and the faces assuming control when the odds were even. Beyond that, it was pretty much a blur of guys pouding on each other. Young and Konley started. Then it was Collins, Taylor, Jones, Santarelli, Delishus, Beach and Swinger. Stevens batted clean up. And clean up he did. Young and Beach bled after head shots into the cage. Impact hung Konley upside down facing the cage, so Oates could do a number on him. Everybody got a chance to hit their finisher. Swinger got a chain from Michaels, but Beach got it and choked Swinger with it until he tapped.
Oates said the Hierarchy had taken GCW back, just like he said they would when he made shocking return six week ago. His first act as commissioner was to make Swinger defend the GCW Heavyweight Title inside the cage against Beach. The match was announced for 6/2, when GCW moves their shows back to Saturday nights.
NOTES: Along with Beach vs. Swinger, the first Saturday night show on 6/2 has the start of tournament to crown a GCW Cruiserweight Champion…I had been wondering why a wrestler as good as Chris Stevens doesn’t get more bookings. The answer is that Stevens has his hands full with ownership of two Gold’s Gyms and being the father of four children, so it takes fairly serious money to get him out on the road…Konley starts with NWA Anarchy this week…Logan Chase, who had been managing the NOW, posted on his Myspace that he was going to be taking some time off from pro wrestling…Superstars of Southern Wrestling has a show scheduled for Lawrenceburg, TN on Friday, June 15 at the new national guard armory featuring Buff Bagwell, “Nightmare’ Ken Wayne and his son, Eric, Bill Dundee, Gypsy Joe, Chrisjen Hayme, Tojo Yamamoto Jr., “Hollywood” Jimmy Blaylock, and Beau James.
On May 28, 2005, GCW was at their zenith. Their 1st anniversary show, headlined by a Dusty Rhodes/Tully Blanchard cage match along with the War Games match, drew a crowd of over 600. Then known as Georgia Championship Wrestling, the company was based across the river in Columbus at what was arguably the finest venue for independent wrestling anywhere in the Southeast. During the summer of 2005, they routinely drew over 300 to their weekly Saturday night shows.
Since then, the GCW saga has been stranger-than-fiction, starting in the aftermath of the 1st anniversary show when former GCW ring announcer Dan Masters was arrested for trespassing as he sat in Dusty Rhodes’ truck. Despite his success as booker, Bo Oates, son of original GCW owner Jerry Oates, was gone before the summer was out. Bo made no secret of the issues he had with his father. Jerry took over the book, but his tenure was neither financially or artistically successful. Owners Bill and Diane Hewes turned to their top babyface, Erik Watts, to handle the creative end. In October 2005, it came to light that someone other than the owners of GCW held rights to use the Georgia Championship Wrestling name. The promotion announced the name change coupled with plans to run shows outside the state of Georgia. GCW drew some good houses under Watts, but he was fired in April 2006 as the second anniversary show approached. An embittered Watts then did an interview portraying Jerry as an incompetent, undermining lowlife, and the Hewes as neophytes lacking clue one about the wrestling business. In September 2006, the Hewes announced that they were leaving Columbus. At the same time, Jerry disappeared from GCW, the Hewes were officially announced as the owners, and Quentin Michaels, formerly of Deep South Wrestling, emerged as the new booker.
Phenix City hasn’t exactly welcomed GCW with open arms. The promotion unknowingly walked into some nasty city politics. Problems meeting code to the city’s satisfaction forced the promotion to use the national guard armory on temporary basis. Then, there was the ridiculous deal where they tried to run a show in the parking lot, only to have the city shut them down for not providing an evacuation plan (for an outdoor show!) in advance. With the move to Phenix City, the weekly shows were shifted to Wednesdays. Crowds of late were said to be averaging less than 100.
As a wrestling building, the Gr8 Sk8 Plex is a mixed bag. The six-sided ring is cool. The sound system and entrance area are fine, but the lighting is a ghastly greenhouse fluorescent, and the ceiling is only 10 feet above the ring, too low for full scale aerial moves. It’s certainly a come down from their former state-of-the-art facility, but the building in Columbus was leased, and there was concern that the rug would be pulled out from under them, because the owner was facing charges of tax evasion. The Hewes would like to make some modifications to make the Skate Center a better venue for wrestling, but getting the city to approve them is another matter altogether.
All things considered, it was a reasonably good show in the ring. There were no great matches, but only one that sucked, and you had titles changing hands, midgets, women, and War Games featuring the top 10 guys in the promotion. GCW’s talent is as good as any indie in Georgia. It’s become something of a haven for for ex-members of the Deep South Wrestling roster. High Impact, Tracy Taylor, Johnny Swinger, Danny Gimondo, and Kevin Matthews have all appeared here after being released by WWE. Holdovers David Young and Chris Stevens are a kick ass tag team.
(1) The NOW (Vik Dalishus & Hale Collins) beat High Impact (Micah Taylor & Tony Santarelli) to win the GCW Tag Team Titles in 13:40. Santarelli has packed on some pounds since I last saw him in Deep South Wrestling. Collins’ act is strictly comedy. He was getting heat for his resemblance to Screech from “Saved by the Bell.” His energy reminded me of Steve Corino. Collins has no body, but he has the frame for a good physique with the proper dedication and nutritional supplements. Delishus trained at OVW. Not a great athlete by any stretch, but he knows how to work. High Impact’s early offense provided the best wrestling on the show. And so it should be. At the 8 minute mark, Dalishus delivered a chop block to Santarelli’s knee to start the heat. Santarelli propelled Delishus over the top to set up the hot tag. Taylor hung both members of the NOW in the tree of woe and dished out punishment. Taylor then bounced the head of Delishus off of Collins’ crotch, and NOW ended up in the dreaded 69 position. Delishus was toast after a High Impact combo. That’s when Caleb Konley interfered. Referee Scrappy McGowan appeared to see Konley in the ring. He never would have let something like that go in Deep South. Delishus pinned Taylor with a reverse roll up. The heels started beating on Impact, but Scotty Beach made the save.
Taylor said NOW stole the belt and demanded a rematch on the spot. Quentin Michaels came out. Michaels guaranteed that the new champions were unafraid of High Impact and made a counter offer. Michaels would sacrifice his spot in the War Games to the NOW, if Bo Oates would give his spot up to High Impact.
Diane Hewes got on the mic. There are no two ways about it, GCW is her baby. Oates was at her side. Michaels had Oates arrested and handcuffed at last week’s show for coming out of the crowd. Oates’ legal status wasn’t mentioned. I guess he’s out on bond. Hewes said their insurance wouldn’t allow non-wrestlers in the War Games anyway, and accepted Michaels’ offer with an added stipulation: if the Hierarchy won, then Oates would be the new GCW commissioner and if Michaels Inc. won, then Michaels would get the spot.
(2) Jonathan Davis beat Amien Rios and Randall Johnson to win the cruiserweight triple threat match (7:52). Davis is way over with the GCW fans. Being Mexican was enough to get him heat, but Rios is a good heel. Johnson has put some much needed meat on his bones. Match was mostly Davis and Rios. It was fast paced and spotty in more ways than one. They were small enough to pull off some top rope moves. Davis, by far the most spectacular of the bunch, got to shine early. Johnson and Rios gave Davis a double suplex and pulled each other off the pin. Davis crashed and burned on a 450. Rios powerbombed the both of them, but could pin neither. Rios destroyed Davis with a wheelbarrow half nelson head drop, but Johnson pulled the ref out. Rios gave Johnson a cradle suplex. Davis got a pop with a top rope variation of the 619. Davis won it with a flying huracanrana. Not the crispest of finishers, but the crowd appreciated it. A fan pretended to read Rios’ mind “Yo quiero a win. Que pasa?”
(3) Deathrow pinned John Bogie in a Last Man Standing Match after a Pepsi can to the skull (10:30). Chick Donovan was scheduled to be in Deathrow’s corner, but as seen on the big screen prior to the match, Deathrow left Donovan laying in a pool of blood in the dressing room. These guys have been feuding since the days when the promotion was located on the other side of the Chattahoochee. It was bad brawling galore, and the crowd was checked out for most of the match. The worst part is that they were staying down for long counts on fairly basic moves. Deathrow took a bump from the apron through a ringside table and just barely beat the ten count. They were brawling at ringside when Deathrow delivered the killing blow with a gimmicked can. Gimmicked or not, it was an impressive looking shot that got a big pop.
Deathrow’s male nurse, or whatever the hell he’s supposed to be, hit the ring to inject him with a sedative, but the forensic phenom dropped him on his head.
Michaels accompanied Melissa Coates to the ring for her scheduled match against Tracy Taylor. Taylor wasn’t there, so Michaels ordered the ref to award the GCW Women’s Title to Coates via forfeit. Michaels said Taylor was running scared. Coates said there wasn’t anybody tough enough to take her on. The crowd greeted the sight of Daffney with a strong pop.
(4) Melissa Coates (with Quentin Michaels) beat Daffney to win the GCW Women’s Title in 6:10. This match was laid out better than anything on the show. Just enough content to avoid overstaying their welcome. Daffney got off to quick start with a backslide. But Coates countered Daffney’s flying headscissors with a sitout facebuster. The crowd was getting on Coates pretty good here, with calls of “she’s the man” and “twisted sister.” Coates used a hair mare and a sitout fist drop for near falls. Daffney came back with a reverse DDT and it was both women down for a seven count. Crowd was chanting “Scream Queen” as Daffney made the comeback. Daffney climbed on the middle rope to deliver the 10 punches, but Coates cut her off with a sitout powerbomb for the three count. Coates posted Daffney after the match and did a swank posing routine with the belt.
(5) Puppet beat Little Kato in 10:35. The crowd was up for this. They had a pretty entertaining match until things fell apart a bit towards the finish. Kato is a flexible little bastard. He was able to rest his foot onto the top rope to stretch out his hamstrings. Kato bailed out after taking a sit down splash. A fan told him to grow up. Inside the ring, Kato hit a rolling neck snap for two. Puppet answered with a bulldog and a Vader bomb for near falls. Kato landed a spinning hook kick that sent Puppet to the outside. Kato started going for pins and got frustrated with referee Randy Ray’s slow counts. Kato made his point by imitating Ray and picking his nose between slaps of the mat. Kato landed an axe kick and applied a leg submission, but Puppet made the ropes. Puppet initiated a sunset flip from the apron. It turned out ugly. They did a spot with Kato running the ropes that didnt work much better. Puppet won it with a fireman’s carry drop.
(6) The Hierarchy (Chris Stevens & David Young & Scotty Beach & Micah Taylor & Tony Santarelli with Bo Oates) beat Michaels Incorporated (Johnny Swinger & Cru Jones & Caleb Konley & Vic Dalishus & Hale Collins with Quentin Michaels Esq.) in the War Games via submission when Beach forced Swinger to submit (23:34). If there was a coin toss to establish that the heels would have the man advantage, I missed it. I expected Young and Stevens to be over, but the pop for Beach was a surprise. The heat was strong. It was fairly tame for a War Games, and paled in comparison to any of the NWA Wildside versions. The low ceiling eliminated any possibility of a spectacular dive off the top of the cage, or any dramatic fighting up on top. The basic story was the heels capitalizing on the man advantage, and the faces assuming control when the odds were even. Beyond that, it was pretty much a blur of guys pouding on each other. Young and Konley started. Then it was Collins, Taylor, Jones, Santarelli, Delishus, Beach and Swinger. Stevens batted clean up. And clean up he did. Young and Beach bled after head shots into the cage. Impact hung Konley upside down facing the cage, so Oates could do a number on him. Everybody got a chance to hit their finisher. Swinger got a chain from Michaels, but Beach got it and choked Swinger with it until he tapped.
Oates said the Hierarchy had taken GCW back, just like he said they would when he made shocking return six week ago. His first act as commissioner was to make Swinger defend the GCW Heavyweight Title inside the cage against Beach. The match was announced for 6/2, when GCW moves their shows back to Saturday nights.
NOTES: Along with Beach vs. Swinger, the first Saturday night show on 6/2 has the start of tournament to crown a GCW Cruiserweight Champion…I had been wondering why a wrestler as good as Chris Stevens doesn’t get more bookings. The answer is that Stevens has his hands full with ownership of two Gold’s Gyms and being the father of four children, so it takes fairly serious money to get him out on the road…Konley starts with NWA Anarchy this week…Logan Chase, who had been managing the NOW, posted on his Myspace that he was going to be taking some time off from pro wrestling…Superstars of Southern Wrestling has a show scheduled for Lawrenceburg, TN on Friday, June 15 at the new national guard armory featuring Buff Bagwell, “Nightmare’ Ken Wayne and his son, Eric, Bill Dundee, Gypsy Joe, Chrisjen Hayme, Tojo Yamamoto Jr., “Hollywood” Jimmy Blaylock, and Beau James.