GSR

At the start of the show Brandon Baxter interrupts a Randy Hales interview and gets the guys in the truck to play some video of where Cory Maclin announced him as the match maker of Memphis Power Pro Wrestling. Maclin says that it’s an old piece of film and that Randy Hales is now the match maker and the one booking everything. Baxter points out that he still has a contract and the only way that contract can be terminated is with 30 days written notice. As of yet he hasn’t received that, and is therefore still match maker. He goes on to say that a lot of people deserve a shot at the MPPW title and Randy Hales hasn’t given them one. Today he is giving everyone in the back a crack in the shape of a Battle Royale. Ali will also be in the Battle Royale, and to retain his title he will have to go through everyone in that dressing room. He has also heard that Ali has yet to make it to the studio, and he would hate it if he didn’t get here on time and lost his title in a match that he wasn’t even in. I think the participants for the Battle Royale are B.J. Payne, Scotty Sabre, Lance Jade, Alan Steel, Tracey Smothers, Derrick King, 2 Falk 4 Sure, Chris Michaels, Bulldog Raines and Seven, with Ali still not have arrived yet. A nothing Battle Royale where the only thing of note early was Seven military pressing King and throwing him over the top rope to the floor. With just three wrestlers remaining Ali finally arrives and Jade eliminates himself rather than taking him on. Double clothesline, a powerslam on Seven and Ali then presses Smothers and throw him onto him. Ali throws Tracey over the top rope, but he holds on and skins the cat. Ali ducks a Seven clothesline and he hits Smothers instead sending him flying over the top to the floor, then a further clothesline to Seven eliminates him and Ali is still the Power Pro champion. A disappointing week in ring wise for MPPW when the match I enjoyed most was Jim Cornette vs Randy Hales.

You fear the worst when one of the participants hasn’t even got any ring gear to wear! Lumberjack strap match where, due to a stipulation made by Brandon Baxter earlier in the show, all the lumberjacks have been hand-picked by Jim Cornette. There are not many people I’d back Corny to beat in a fight, but Hales is one! B.J. Payne nails a very awkward looking Hales which give Cornette the early advantage. Corny distracts the referee and this allows the lumberjacks to get some shots in on Hales. He later drops Hales with a right then misses an elbow drop. Payne throws a strap in to Cornette, but Hales is able to get a boot to the mid-section in first and he drops it. Randy picks up the strap and starts whipping Cornette (this looks dreadful). He repeatedly rams his head into the turnbuckle, and the world’s worst bulldog sees Hales come out the victor. Tracey Smothers gets in the ring and cracks Hales over the head with a nasty looking chair shot, before Scotty Sabre, 2 Falk 4 Sure (Tony Falk) and Bulldog Raines are all out and a bit of a ringside brawl takes place. I think awkward sums Randy Hales up to a ‘T’. Cornette was on the offense for the majority of this and that’s definitely for the better. The match was short enough that it wasn’t offensive, although I was expecting a lot more schtick and smoke and mirrors, as opposed to the two of them trying to do a straight match.

Tracey is out and says his opponent today, Wolfie D, hasn’t showed up because he knew ‘sell out’ Smothers would dust him off like yesterday’s newspaper. He draws money, he is ratings, he is a thug! He says his T-H-U-G catchphrase and that he spells pain F-I-S-T! He calls Power Pro a ‘Mickey Mouse’ operation and says that there is nothing but a bunch of fairies and pansies in that dressing room, and if anyone’s got the guts ‘get out here’. Scotty Sabre walks out and Smothers questions who he is and that he wants Goldberg, Steve Austin or The Rock! Sabre says that he works for this company and he’s not a fairy. Smothers says ‘Hey, there’s Wolfie D over there man’, and as Sabre turns around to look, Tracey blindsides him. Smothers whips Sabre into the ropes, he ducks two clothesline attempts and hits a poor crossbody for a two. A lazy looking back heel kick from Tracey, Sabre then reverses and Irish whip and catches Smothers with a side slam. Tracey rolls out the ring and Sabre with a baseball slide. He goes to dive over the top rope onto him, but mistimes his dive and comes up short, crash landing on the apron. Smothers blocks a sunset flip and then sits on Sabre whilst flexing his biceps. Sabre was supposed to hook his arms with his legs but he botched that, so they repeat the exact same spot. This time Sabre manages it and reverses the pin for a two of this own. Sabre with an enziguiri and a ropey superkick. Michinoku Driver and Smothers accidentally takes out referee Robert Brisco with his legs. There is no official to count the fall and Seven heads out from the back to attack Sabre. Chokeslam at the second attempt, Tracey rolls over to make the pin, Seven gets out of there and the ref comes around to count the fall. This was perfectly fine up until Sabre missed that dive to the floor and then it went to pot. Why did they repeat that pin reversal spot? It just makes the match look pre-planned and that they had laid something out which they had to stick to. Only the second month of the year in Memphis and I’m already getting fed up of the ref bumps and outside interference. Like Tracey really needed help to beat Scotty Sabre? Pretty sure that Sabre was a WWF developmental guy who also briefly shows up towards the end of WCW. Third duffer in a row from Smothers who’s promos continue to be his highlight.

Before the match commences the ring announcer says that Zandig won’t be able to wrestle tonight due to an injury, however they have found a replacement. Ian Rotten is out carrying a barbed wire baseball bat and plenty of tonnage around his mid-section. He takes the mic and calls Zandig ‘a coward’, but that he shouldn’t be ashamed of himself because a hell of a lot better men than him have been afraid to wrestle Ian Rotten. The lights in the arena go out, and when they come back on Madman Pondo is in the ring and he immediately levels Ian with a stop sign. He pulls out some scissors and graphically slices Ian across the forehead with them. This is fucking gross! Russian leg sweep onto the barbed wire bat, later followed by a barbed wire bat shot to the groin. Pondo throws Rotten outside then stabs him in the head with something (a fork maybe?). Ian with a powerbomb into some chairs and a chair shot to the head that Pondo just about gets his hands up for to protect himself. It’s Ian’s turn to use the scissors and he cuts Pondo across the forehead and his upper arm and it’s every bit as gross as when Pondo cut Ian earlier. Rotten then cracks Pondo over the head with the barbed wire bat. Low blow from the Madman, a DDT, and he heads to the back to later return with some light tubes. He throws a couple of chairs into the ring and lays the light tubes across them. Ian with a right and he sets Pondo up for a superplex. Pondo with another low blow and he powerbombs Ian through the light tubes, then the arena lights go out for a second time. They come back on and Axl Rotten is in the ring. He nails Pondo with a steel chair and starts beating on him whilst calling him Paul Heyman. Brutal ‘conchairto’ from the Rotten’s and a chair wielding Lobo is out to put a stop to things. Axl cuts a post-match ‘anti-ECW’ promo (‘fuck ECW, fuck Paul Heyman and fuck all those wannabes’) whilst claiming the Rotten’s, the Public Enemy and The Pitbulls built the promotion and the wrestlers were afraid to go on after the Bad Breed. Ian then talks about a ‘no-rope barbed wire cactus’ tag match next time, and Axl claims it will draw 3,000 and they’ll be turning people away! Lobo says something in return and it leads to an impromptu brawl. Axl with a couple of stop sign shots to Lobo (which he doesn’t sell) and Ian with a chair shot to him. Axl then hits him in the back with the barbed wire bat and grinds it into his flesh. Lobo, who still isn’t really selling, goes after the Rotten’s and an announcement over the loudspeaker request all security to get in the ring to separate the combatants as the crowd chant ‘let them go!’ Of the ‘hardcore’ regulars, it’s a toss-up between Madman Pondo and Mitch Page who I think is the worst, although both are the drizzling shits. As a match this was, excuse the pun, garbage. It was as if they wanted to do something to compensate for Zandig not being there, so went out and mutilated each other as much as they could within reason. It was barbed wire baseball bats, chairs, scissors, light tubes and nothing in between. I couldn’t care less for Axl and it feels like I’ve heard this promo so many times for him (although his opinion on ECW fluctuates from criticism to praise, depending on whether he is after something or not). Don’t know why Lobo wasn’t selling, although a nice visual at the end with security in the ring separating the wrestlers.

Palumbo is the face for this one, and add Cornell (later Reno) to my list of guys who I don’t think was given a fair shot by the WWF. Fireman’s carry takedown from Cornell and Palumbo with a high leapfrog and a powerbomb for a two. Big dropkick from Chuck and he’s another with a strong vertical leap. Cornell goes to climb the turnbuckles and is met with a springboard dropkick that sends him tumbling to the floor. Chuck throws him back in the ring but is met by a boot to the mid-section. Double underhook suplex by Cornell and he continues to try and wear Palumbo down. Sweet back heel trip and a couple of pinfall attempts only garner a two. Palumbo blocks a hip-toss and hits a modified version of his own. Cornell with a release overhead cradle suplex, but he then misses a fist drop off the top. A grazing jungle kick by Palumbo and a sky high shoulderblock with some proper elevation leads to the three and the win in this battle of Power Plant graduates. This wasn’t bad at all and I’ve seen plenty worse from guys with much more experience. I’m not that keen on the ‘jungle’ gimmick that Palumbo is doing, and while there are similarities between Jindrak and he, at this point Palumbo is the bigger prospect by some way. Cornell is someone I’ve always liked, although he doesn’t seem to have much in the way of charisma. A silent assassin, ‘hired gun’ type of gimmick would’ve been perfect for him.

Bailey is in the ring along with K-Krush, Crowbar and a reluctant Thunder on the outside. This is my first proper look at Bailey and he cuts a tremendous promo on Chance William (Chance’s wife has such a pretty smile, in fact she’s got the whitest teeth he’s ever come across!), who he has a match with tonight and where if he wins, he gains control of NCW ‘the company that he made great!’ Bailey, with his entourage, are in the ring for the match when Commissioner Marcus Wayne is out and orders Krush and Crowbar out of there and to the back. Chance William comes out but he’s in a suit and not his wrestling gear. He grabs the mic and tells Bailey that he knew he’d try to pull something like this, but he never said it would be him that he’d be facing, at which point the lights in the arena go out. They come back on and Stone Mountain is stood in the ring, and he’s apparently a former charge of Bailey’s who he fired when he was sick. Mountain is a big dude! Bailey tries to stall, but as soon as Mountain gets his hands on him he picks him up, slams him to the canvas and it’s all over. Next we get the very end of K-Krush vs A.J. Styles, with Styles getting the win after a shooting star press to become the new TV champion. Crowbar jumps Styles after the match and Bailey gets in a few shots too. Styles is laid out on his back with his head hanging over the apron and Bailey says that he wants someone to prove their worth to him. He want someone “to end this sickly little infected purple spotted faggot’s life!” and calls out Jesse Taylor. Crowbar hands Taylor a chair and Bailey tells him to fracture A.J.’s skull and end his life right here. He’s the one who is standing in his way, and he wants him to end “this little bastard’s life”. Taylor is reluctant and Jorge Estrada is out to make the save and (barely) dropkicks the chair into Taylor’s face. Bailey orders Crowbar to get Estarda and he beats on him whilst Taylor pulls Krush off Styles so he can put the boots to him himself. Krush isn’t happy with him interjecting and ends up giving Taylor a dropkick that sends him flying over the ropes to the floor. He then slugs Bailey as the footage ends to complete the face turn. The match here was one move, but I did enjoy all of this. I don’t know how much more we’ll see of Jeff G. Bailey, but I hope it’s plenty. He’s got the gift of the gab and is clearly not afraid to offend in the slightest (faggot, bastard). I thought Mountain might’ve been Abyss at first but it wasn’t.

So the first appearance of A.J. Styles who I’m imagining we’ll be seeing plenty of in this project. Styles with a side headlock and Taylor shoots him into the ropes and drops him with a shoulder tackle. He backs him into the corner and unloads with a couple of smart looking punches to the bread basket. A knee to the solar plexus and some boots as Taylor continues to focus his attention on Styles’ mid-section. A.J. starts to fire back and a powerslam by Taylor for a two followed by more knees to the Styles mid-section. He whips A.J. into the corner, but in one motion leaps to the top turnbuckle, and when Taylor charges, backflips over him and drops him with a right. Real nice selling of the ribs by A.J. after this. Bodyslam from Taylor and a leg drop across Styles’ ribs. A second leg drop to mid-section and Styles is only just able to kick out. A.J. reverses an Irish whip and Taylor goes chest first into the turnbuckles. Big splash in the corner from Styles and he’s back selling his ribs again. Top stuff! Standing moonsault for two and more selling of those ribs. Dropkick and Taylor ducks out of the ring to get a breather but A.J. with a pescado. Taylor picks up a chair and throws it, and Styles, back in to the ring. He’s too long deciding what to do, A.J. with a rabbit lariat and Taylor takes a bump over the top rope to the floor. He gets back to his feet and on to the apron, but A.J. with a baseball slide dropkick, taking Taylor’s legs out from under him and sending his head crashing into the steel chair that was now on the apron. Styles rolls him back into the ring, springboard leg drop, regulation leg drop and that’s enough for the three and the win for A.J. Interesting to see Styles so early in his career and in the few high spots that he does, you can see that he’s a ‘phenomenal’ athlete. Exceptional job at selling the ribs here. Even after his offensive moves he’s back selling them and proceeds to do so for the rest of the match. No forgetting to seconds later. I thought Taylor was solid if unspectacular, and he and Styles put on a good little match. I actually liked the commentary here with them talking about the slide and losing streak Taylor has been on, also mentioning how bright Styles’ future is. How prophetic they were!

Krush comes out to ‘Back in Black’ and proceeds to rap over it which I liked. There’s some big jacked up dude in the ring who looks like Nathan Jones, but is called Crowbar and I’m guessing is Jeff G. Bailey’s bodyguard. They manage to mess up an arm drag, and Estrada with a backdrop where Krush goes flying into the ropes. A series of forearms and a back elbow by Estrada for a two. Krush whips Estrada into the ropes, drop down, high leapfrog and a spin kick for the win. I found this pretty boring and the only thing of interest being the commentators saying that Krush has recently been signed by the WWF. Between his look, physique and the gimmick you can see why. Estrada looks like the kinda person who might’ve found his way to WCW Saturday Night if that show had lasted towards the end of the year.

A ‘Hardcore Elimination Rumble’ where the final two participants will face off at Y2Kaos. You forget how much ‘hardcore’ was a thing circa 2000 with seemingly every promotion doing the gimmick (although the weapon shots were kept to a minimum here). This is a tricky one as I have a feeling it is a match that came across better live than on TV. The match was structured so that two of the five would be in the ring wrestling, while the other three would be fighting on the floor. As a result you had a lot going on and it was a struggle to keep an eye on everything (not helped by shaky camera work that was jumping between the action). Steel with a facebuster off the top on Q-Sic, Trash then nails Steel in the back with a stop sign and makes the cover himself to eliminate Sic. Steele with an immediate release German suplex to Trash and he’s next to go. Toad with a downward spiral onto Steel, Rukkus (who’s not the CZW guy) with a diving headbutt off the top, Toad moves and he hits Steel, gets the three and Toad and Rukkus advance to Y2Kaos. Not a fan of the rapid fire eliminations; they go over ten minutes without one, then all three take place in just 50 seconds. The Steel elimination also looked bad as Toad was blatantly delaying making the pin in order to allow Rukkus (who was in no hurry to get to the other side of the ring) to get into position for the diving headbutt. He’s then late on delivering the headbutt and the referee has to just stop when counting the Toad pin on Steel. With Toad and Rukkus advancing anyway, they should have called an audible and had the referee continue the count.

Chavo is doing the salesman gimmick and he has some hairspray for Charles Robinson. A series of waistlock reversals and Romeo rolls through for the ankle lock which Chavo can only break by grabbing the ropes. Chavo with a suplex that Romeo doesnt go up right for so he ends up sitting him on the top turnbuckle. He then proceeds to slip off and Chavo gives him a standing dropkick in the corner. Belly to back suplex by Chavo for a two. Romeo then block a belly to back off the top with some elbows and comes off with a high crossbody for a two of his own. Chavo has Romeo in a firemans carry and Kid was supposed to reverse it into something (possibly a neckbreaker). But he makes a hash of things in a horrible looking spot. Chavo has had enough and hits the tornado DDT for the win. Not the most auspicious of starts for Kid Romeo with this following on from the Tommy Rogers match. Youve got Scott Hudson and Mike Tenay singing the praises of Paul Orndorff and the Power Plant, and then youve a nondescript performance from Romeo with a couple of blown spots, one especially that looks down right awful. Chavo tries but Romeo was disappointing.

You go 4 1/2 stars on a match and this is all you have to say?

Triple threat match for the IC title with the belt currently being co-held by Chyna and Chris Jericho. Looking back Holly looks out of place challenging for this, but Jerry Lawler informs us that he holds pinfall victories over both of the co-champs. The three exchange slaps before Holly reverses an Irish whip and Chyna goes flying over the top rope to get her out of there. Holly and Jericho go at it with some stinging chops exchanged between the two of them. Holly with a standing huracanrana which Jericho blocks and turns into the ‘Walls of Jericho’, however Chyna is back in there to break up the submission attempt (which the crowd didn’t appreciate at all). Chyna clotheslines Holly over the top rope to the floor and follows with a baseball slide dropkick. Jericho then jumps to the top rope and comes off with a reverse crossbody to the floor on Holly (only just avoiding slipping). Chyna with the handspring, back flip elbow to Jericho, a DDT, and Holly is back in to break up the pin. Chyna and Jericho climb to opposite turnbuckles and both come off with a splash on to the prone Holly, however Jericho lands on top of Chyna (this looks like it was a mistake and that both should’ve just landed on Holly). Jericho and Chyna trade some weak forearms and Chyna with a pedigree on Holly which he’s able to kick out from. Holly has Chyna on his shoulders and Jericho with a crossbody off the top for a near fall. Jericho goes for the ‘suicideplex’ on Bob, but Chyna sweeps his feet out from under him and he tumbles to the floor. She climbs to the top and delivers a ‘suicideplex’ of her own. Chyna with a chair shot to Holly’s head behind the referee’s back, followed by a loosely applied Boston crab. With her mind focussed on getting the submission, she misses Jericho getting back into the ring. Bulldog by him to her, Lionsault and Chris Jericho is the new (and only) Intercontinental champion. Better match than I expected, although it would’ve been better if it was a singles match between Jericho and Holly who had real good chemistry together. At times it felt like they were trying to get Chyna out of there so they could just work with one another. There’s also a huge disparity in watching Holly and Jericho lay into one another with forearms, slaps and chops, then seeing how they hold back with Chyna. She’s fine when she’s called on to do the odd spot like her handspring elbow or the ‘suicideplex’, but it’s a different matter when she has to work a full match. Jericho is also the clear crowd favourite, and the reactions Chyna got here explains why she got zero when she came out for the Rumble later in the show.

The KAW guys had been disrupting the show all day and Bill Dundee has had enough. He heads to the ring (in T-shirt, trousers and cowboy boots), takes the mic and says that he wants either Todd Morton or Bull Pain to have the guts to come out and face him. Morton rushes out to answer the challenge and the two have a short spirited fight. Morton certainly doesn’t work snug and his offensive strikes have a tendency to look ‘soft’. Great low blow from Dundee on him at one point. Dundee with a piledriver for two, and he then starts stretching Morton like he’s Stu Hart stretching some rookie in his dungeon. ‘The Superstar’ still throws a mean right and starts unloading on Morton when Bull Pain runs out for the DQ. It’s 3 on 1 as Al K. Holic (former Kick Ass Wrestling referee carrying a KAW banner) comes to join Pain and Morton as they beat on Dundee until Gangsta B. I. G. makes the save and levels all three of them with a 2x4. Dundee and B. I. G. get on the mic post-match and they set up a tag match for the four of them down the line. Fun little TV match.

Smothers is in his street clothes again and now has Jim Cornette and Synn in his corner. Ali pulls out another pescado, but makes the mistake of chasing after Corny and Synn. Cornette rolls into the ring to try and escape, but is met by a Smothers heel kick. Corny continues to show his worth by distracting the referee when Ali has Tracey in a small package. Ali with a big splash in the corner followed by a powerslam. As he covers him Cornette is in the ring and cracks Ali in the back with his racket for the DQ. Cornette and Smothers put the boots to Ali post-match and the referee tries to stop them but gets nailed with the racket himself for his troubles. Randy Hales is next out to try and put a stop to all this, but Synn grabs him and Cornette then starts attacking him. Hales ducks out the way of a racket shot and Corny ends up hitting Synn with it instead. The three of them fight to the back and Smothers comes off the top turnbuckle to Ali, who catches and plants him with a belly to belly. He goes for the ‘Ali Driver’, however Brandon Baxter is in the ring with an ether soaked rag that he starts to smother Ali with until Tracey gets hold of it and takes over. Baxter then goes to Dave Brown and says that this is what happens when you mess with Brandon Baxter! Cheap DQ finish to the match which was not that exciting as it was. Of the five Power Pro matches for the month, Smothers has been involved in my two least favourite. Enjoyed Corny accidentally nailing Synn post-match, and another Corny staple with the ‘ether soaked rag’ making its return!

Pre-match in ring promo from the Dudleys with Bubba still doing the stuttering gimmick at this point. Big full nelson slam by Bubba on Jeff and he’s out to get the first table of the match. Bubba tries to backdrop Jeff through it, but Matt flips the table out of the way. Jeff with a vicious chairshot to Bubba on the outside, he then runs along the ringside barrier with the intention of putting Bubba through a table, however Bubba is back to his feet and when Jeff flies through the air he goes crashing head first into a table that Bubba throws at him. Hardyz with a double superplex on Bubba, but this time it’s D-Von who moves the table out the way. Matt pulls a ladder into the ring and the Hardyz use that as an offensive weapon. Matt with another brutal chair shot to Bubba’s head and then lies him on a table outside. He sets up the ladder, climbs it, and whilst he comes off it with a legdrop through Bubba and the table, at the same time Jeff with a splash from the top turnbuckle to him. Chair shot to D-Von and the Hardyz re-position the ring steps and prop a table up between them and the apron. They lay D-Von on it, Matt climbs to the top turnbuckle and comes off with a legdrop, but D-Von moves and he goes crashing through it to the floor. As D-Von is trying to get his bearings, Jeff with a flip dive through the ropes, but again D-Von is able to move and Jeff goes crashing through another table. Precision timing to the nth here. The Dudleys throw the ring steps into the ring, position a table on them and then superbomb Matt through the construction. They head out to the exit point and Bubba arranges some tables and stacks them up on one another. They lie Matt on the tables and Bubba drags Jeff up to the balcony. Bubba is about to splash Matt when Jeff low blows him. A couple more chair shots to Bubba and he takes a nestea plunge from the balcony through the tables (Matt had managed to get out of the way). Matt with a chair shot to D-Von, he then lays him on the table and Jeff with a Swanton Bomb from the balcony through D-Von and the table for the win. Great stunt show, spotfest and the effort these two teams put in was off the charts. The timing on some of the spots was to the second and was spot on. All four put their bodies on the line and the chair shots that every one of them took looked, and sounded brutal. Knowing what we now know, I hated seeing them (I have a feeling I’ll be saying this a lot), and Bubba for one took too many. His selling with the glazed eyes was great, but only we know if he was selling and wasn’t actually concussed. For what this was, I thought it was excellent.

Ali looks like Ahmed Johnson, while Bradley is accompanied by both Jim Cornette and Synn. Title match for Bradley’s MPPW Heavyweight championship, with the added stipulation that if Bradley loses he leaves Power Pro Wrestling. Prior to the match Cornette gets on the mic and says that they’re not going to have the match as he’s just realised Steve Bradley’s wrestling license expired at 09:00 am this morning. Dave Brown tells him that he’s not going to pull that one, and even if it has expired they’re going to get on the phone and get it extended until at least noon. Cornette then claims that this match is illegal as Steve Bradley doesn’t have a valid license, and if he gets arrested it’s on Dave Brown’s head, as he’s not going to have the Commission come down on him. Randy Hales is out and ‘fires’ Cornette, to which he responds that he can’t fire him, he doesn’t even pay him! Hales tells Bradley to get in the ring or he’s done. Bradley with a boot to the mid-section, he goes to whip Ali into the ropes, Ali reverses, Bradley ducks a couple of clothesline but gets caught with a spinebuster. Ali stays on the attack and it’s his turn to whip Bradley into the ropes, however he grabs hold of them and steps outside for a breather and to talk tactics with Cornette. They don’t have long to chat and Ali with a pescado to the floor on him. Ali misses a big splash to the corner and Bradley with a suplex. He throws Ali out to the floor where Cornette and Synn are able to get some shots of their own in, before Bradley follows with an Asai moonsault on to him. Bradley with a DDT for a two count. Bodyslam, then a series of moonsaults off the bottom, middle and top ropes, however Ali moves on the final and Bradley lands flush on the canvas. Brandon Baxter comes out and we now have three managers at ringside. Ali whips Bradley into the corner, goes for a splash, but he pulls the referee in front of him and he splashes him instead. Cornette climbs on the apron and Ali headbutts him, however this slight distraction was all Bradley needed. Baxter picks up the tennis racket, throws it to Bradley and he clocks Ali in the head with it. The referee comes around as Bradley makes the covers, but Ali kicks out for a cracking near fall (quality facials from Bradley here). Ali with a big powerbomb, although he’s too tired to now take advantage. Seven is next out and up on the apron. Ali clobbers him, ‘Ali Driver’ (double underhook suplex but dropped into a face first slam) to Bradley and for the second week in a row we have a new MPPW champion. Baxter snatches the belt and heads to the back with it as the show goes off the air. Really enjoyed the pre-match between Cornette and Dave Brown, although could’ve done without Randy Hales coming out. He’s no talker and this was perfectly fine with just Corny and Dave. I’ve never seen any of her OVW stuff yet, but I’m struggling to see the point and value of Synn and she brings absolutely nothing to this. Best Power Pro match so far and a lot of that has to be attributed to Bradley who continues to impress. He’s clearly the one controlling the match and I have a hunch that Ali is not as good as Bradley made him look. I was unsure after the Constantino/Bradley match, but Cornette has to have a hand in booking this as his fingerprints are again all over the finish.

Dave Brown and Corey Maclin are running down some local events when they’re interrupted by Tracey Smothers. Dave questions what he’s doing out here and Smothers tells him that it’s none of his business. He’s got a real bad attitude today; he doesn’t like bookers, promoters, referees, the office and human beings period! He’s been in this sport 16 years, started right in this ring here, but has been held back and had nothing but the shaft for 16 years. He could whip anyone in WCW, WWF or ECW, and if you ask them they’ll tell you! He’s paid his dues and can’t even get a job pulling the ring! The WWF screwed him, ECW screwed him, WCW screwed him and now Power Pro’s screwed him. He drew money for Randy Hales but now he’s booking people who couldn’t sell out a phone booth. Guys feel a little sick or get their bell rung and won’t wrestle, while he’s had 18 concussions, stitches in his head, cracked ribs, a punctured lung, broken his ankle and never missed a date. If someone doesn’t like what he’s saying he’s not hard to find. He’s here to get a job, he led the Smoky Mountain charge when they feuded with the USWA and has been fired from more territories than most guys have ever worked (at this point the show goes to a commercial break). We return from the advertisements and Smothers is sat on a chair in the ring, and Dave says how they cut the interview as Tracey was just ranting and raving and not making much sense. Nick Dinsmore comes out and says that he has no beef with Tracey Smothers, but he drove 450 miles to be here and he’s not going to hold the show hostage. If he wants a fight, he’ll give him one. Smothers is in regular clothes as opposed to his wrestling gear for this match, which actually felt more like one long angle to me. A really nice Northern Lights suplex from Dinsmore and a dropkick off the top for a two. Smothers charges Dinsmore, who ducks out the way, and Tracey goes flying through the ropes to the floor. They start fighting on the floor and referee Robert Brisco gets between them. There looked to be a timing issue on the finish as Smothers had got back in the ring, followed by Dinsmore, and Brisco rang for the bell. Dave Brown said it was for a low blow, but the low blow came after Brisco had already called for the bell. Smothers waffles Dinsmore with his cowboy boot after the match, gives him a modified ‘Van Daminator’ and then a piledriver on the chair. A chair shot to Dinsmore, one to Brisco and then a piledriver for him too. Smothers’ pre-match promo was tremendous and the post-match attack on Dinsmore and the referee was great, I just didn’t care for what was in between. My first look at Nick Dinsmore and he is a solid, more than capable worker, but at the same time is bland and pretty generic.

Lovely mullet Rico’s got! Constantino starts out in the ascendancy until Cornette hooks his ankle when Bradley shoots him into the ropes, turning the tide of the match. Nice dropkick from Bradley and a moonsault off the bottom rope for a two. A series of sleeper reversals, then both men collide in the middle of the ring and are knocked down. Rico with a flying elbow and a standing moonsault for two of his own. An O’Connor roll, and with the referee counting the pin, Cornette throws powder in Rico’s eyes to break it up. A blinded Constantino hits the official, ‘Sudden Impact’ (Emerald Frosien) on Bradley and Cornette is in the ring, however Rico sees him coming and nails him. B.J. Payne is out and attacks Rico from behind, powerbombs him and puts Bradley on top. The ref comes around and Constantino kicks out on two for a great near fall. Payne and Cornette are up on the apron and are both met with dropkicks. Seven is out next, he picks up Cornette’s racket, clobbers Rico in the back with it and pulls Bradley on top. The referee comes around again in time to count the pin and we have a new MPPW champion. Anyone have any idea how much involvement Cornette had in the booking of Memphis Power Pro as this felt like one of his overbooked Smoky Mountain main events (powder, tennis racket, ref bump, Cornette involvement, multiple run ins). This was okay but felt too rushed for me and the finish was overbooked. I thought Bradley looked better than Constantino here, although Rico is clearly an athletic chap (did he ever use that standing moonsault in the WWF?) with some good moves. He probably came around ten years too late though as he looks more suited for late 80s/early 90s WWF.

Bradley is managed by Jim Cornette and this is a ‘trailer park’ street fight. TPT with a garbage can to the head and he then throws Bradley to the outside. They fight on the floor and Bradley whips Trash into the apron. He pulls a chair from under the ring and goes to hit him with it, however Trash moves, he hits the ropes, the chair rebounds off them and he hits himself in his own head. Back in the ring and Trash with a powerbomb. He places the lid of the garbage can under Bradley’s head, climbs to the top turnbuckle, but misses with the legdrop and lands on the lid as Bradley moves. Bradley with a garbage can shot to the head of Trash and then one with the lid for a near fall. Moonsault off the bottom and then middle ropes for another near fall. ‘Smash mouth’ (which is like a twisting reverse DDT/Gator Breaker) from Bradley and with Cornette’s help he pulls out a table and sets that up in the ring. He sits TPT on the top turnbuckle for a Frankensteiner, but Trash reverses it and powerbombs through the table. Trash with a DDT and Cornette is up on the apron. He throws his tennis racket to Bradley before Trash flips him into the ring. He’s about to DDT Corny when Bradley levels him in the back with the racket. The referee tries to get Cornette out of there, Bradley climbs to the top for a moonsault when out comes Flash and nails Bradley with a fire extinguisher. He falls backwards to the canvas and Trash makes the cover for the three. As he celebrates the win Flash DDT’s him and TPT is left laying as the show goes off the air. My first viewing of Steve Bradley who the Observer used to rave about, and I can certainly see why the likes of Jim Cornette and Les Thatcher were so high on him. Trailer Park Trash looks like his name suggests, but based on this match he looked good and a solid worker. I would imagine it was this look that held the WWF back from signing him when they were picking up a lot of the OVW talent. Good little TV match here.

A dire pre-match interview from Commissioner Nash prior to this World title match where he talks about the powers that come with being Commissioner. As a result, he will be outlawing the powerbomb (‘because it’s so gosh, darn dangerous’) and if Sid uses it he will automatically forfeit the match and he will be declared the winner and new champion. First spot of the match is Sid bodyslamming Nash and they make a mess of that. Sid with a legdrop and I thought Nash was going to be doing the job in seconds but he kicks out. A clothesline then sends Nash over the top rope to the floor. A brief bit of action in the ring before they’re back on the outside and fighting in the front row of the crowd with Nash throwing his terribly pulled punches again. Nash with a sleeper and as Sid’s arm drops for three, the other one raises up. He backs Nash into the corner to break the hold, but doesn’t realise Charles Robinson is behind them and squashes him. Nash goes for the powerbomb when out runs Jeff Jarrett with his guitar. Sid sees him coming, nails Jarrett and then clobbers Nash over the head with the guitar. The referee starts to come round and Sid drops to the canvas, selling the idea that he’s the one who’s been hit with it. He slowly crawls over to cover Nash, Robinson counts the three and we’ve a ticker tape celebration for the new World Heavyweight champion. Finishes have been my pet peeve so far but I liked this one, and the finish here saved the match from being plain unwatchable. Still this was dreadful and how can you blow a bodyslam when it’s the first move of the match? Nash’s strikes are the pits and Sid’s aren’t much better. Worst match I’ve watched so far.

Bigelow has been paid $15,000 by Commissioner Nash to take out Funk. Arn Anderson had tried to talk him out of it, but he said that he’d wrestle his own mother for $15,000! Match is fought under hardcore rules and Bigelow jumps Funk backstage with a chair. He ties a noose around his neck and drags him to the ring whilst also cracking his arm and shoulder with more chair shots. Bigelow misses with a diving head butt off the top as Funk moves out the way, then starts jabbing him with rights. Clothesline with the left (which is the arm Bam Bam has been targeting) sends Bigelow over the top rope to the floor but Funk doesn’t sell that arm at all. Grrr!!! Asai moonsault to the floor by Funk and at least he doesn’t nearly kill himself like against Bret. Funk with a bunch of chair shots to the back of Bigelow, he head butts him, starts selling his own head and eventually knocks himself out. The crowd’s response to this, to start laughing! Diving head butt off the top connects this time. Bam Bam goes for a second when out comes Fit Finlay and Brian Knobbs in matching army fatigues. He handles them both, goes for another head butt but Knobbs puts a chair between Funk and Bigelow and Bam Bam head butts that instead. They pull Funk on top and the referee counts the three for the win. Afterwards Funk gets on the mic and tells Nash he’ll have to kill him to get rid of him. A typical ‘hardcore’ match from the period with Bigelow as the NWO’s ‘hired gun’ trying to take out Funk. It’s uncomfortable seeing him take all those chair shots at 55, even if they were to the arm, shoulder and back. For someone who is such a great seller, the fact that he didn’t sell the left with that clothesline really bothered me. He also needs to drop that moonsault from his arsenal.

Kidman with a tilt-a-whirl suplex and a big crossbody of the top for two. He whips Psicosis into the ropes but he holds on, Kidman charges, Psicosis ducks and he goes flying over the top rope to the floor. Psicosis quickly follows with a glorious suicide dive onto him. Leg lariat off the top and Kidman kicks out at two to a big reaction from the crowd. Psicosis whips Kidman into the guard rail then throws him back into the ring. He comes off the top with a plancha but is met by a nicely timed Kidman dropkick. Bulldog by Kidman for two and he sits Psicosis on the top turnbuckle ready for a Frankensteiner. Psicosis fights back and turns it into a facebuster for a near fall. Great wheelbarrow suplex from Kidman for another two and the crowd are totally into this. DDT by Psicosis followed by an awesome guillotine legdrop off the top that Kidman is just about able to kick out from. Psicosis with a powerbomb but Kidman reverses it into a facebuster for the win. Really good match and these two did a great job in the way that they got the crowd into it. Listen to the reactions on the pinfall attempts, they’re absolutely invested and engrossed in what they’re watching here.

This is scheduled as a ‘dream partners’ match with Tajiri and Crazy on opposite sides, and each to pick a ‘dream partner’ of their choice. Steve Corino has a master plan and chooses Crazy to be Tajiri’s partner. This brings out Little Guido, annoyed that Corino didn’t pick him, and a rather long winded segment leads to a tag match being made and Paul Heyman appearing from the back to announce that Jerry Lynn will be Guido’s partner. Lynn and Crazy start and they do that annoying indy stand-off spot…twice! In amongst this Joey Styles makes some remark about Victor Quinones breaking in quite a few young wrestlers! Crazy tags in Tajiri and he wants Guido. They go all UWFI exchanging slaps and kicks before Tajiri nails him with the handspring elbow. Tajiri with a Tilt-a-Whirl that Guido reverses into a Fujiwara armbar. Lynn and Tajiri exchange forearms and they uncharacteristically botch the ‘tarantula’. Tajiri with a head butt and the ‘tarantula’ to quieten the ‘you fucked up’ chants. Lynn with a plancha from the top to the floor on Crazy and then Tajiri with an Asai moonsault to Lynn. Crazy and Guido head off into the crowd. Crazy with a moonsault off the rails, while Tajiri has Lynn tied up in the tree of woe in the ring. Sunset flip powerbomb by Lynn, a pair of Frankensteiners and Lynn with a German suplex for two. Tajiri with a German and all four men are in the ring. Stereo punches in the corner by Tajiri and Crazy, followed by stereo powerbombs and stereo tornado DDT’s from Guido and Lynn. Double powerbomb on Lynn and Crazy with a piledriver on him. Guido makes the save but then gives the Maritato (Tomokaze) to his own partner. Tajiri makes the cover, Crazy pulls him off and gets a kick to the head for his troubles. Brainbuster by Tajiri on Lynn and that’s the three. Steve Corino, Jack Victory and Tommy Rich are out to celebrate with Tajiri and they attack Lynn while Corino cuts a promo on Dusty Rhodes. The Dream shows up and delivers bionic elbows to everyone. Rhino makes the save for the heels, nails Dusty and puts the boots to him until the dressing room clears to put a stop to it. Good match. Didn’t care for the length pre-match Corino promo segment, but the action and everything after it was good, especially with Tajiri and Guido. One thing I’m noticing with a lot of the January stuff I’ve watched so far is the unsatisfactory finishes, and that’s again the case here. There had been no tension showed by either team throughout the match, then in a matter of seconds, members of both teams are turning on their partners. Why is Guido saving Lynn from a pin if he’s going to give him the Maritato immediately after? Hating the ‘you fucked up’ chants. Also Rhino being referred to as the ‘rookie monster’ when he’s already been in the game for five years? Nice cameo from the Dream at the end.

Jim Garvin says that they do whatever they want, whenever they want to do it and nobody is going to stop them. Michael Hayes says that when you are the greatest rock and roll band in the world it allows you a few special perks, and they then introduce a face painted Rocky King. They thought they pulled one over on them at the Clash, but there is always more than two Freebirds and Little Richard takes care of anything that they need. Buddy Roberts is already history then, no wonder I couldn’t remember him being in the NWA at this time. King looks out of place straight away here as a member of the Freebirds. He’s clearly being kept around for some reason and given a modicum of a push, first with the Dudes with Attitude and now the Freebirds. Is this Ole? T-Bolt? He’s an odd fit full stop.

Latest taped promo from the Black Scorpion. He sees that Sting is losing control. He’s always been ‘the master’ of his own destiny, but at the Clash he saw his face and it wasn’t one of control. Everybody could see that Sting was losing confidence and maybe even losing his mind. At Halloween Havoc Sting will wrestle Sid Vicious, but before then, he has to meet him again. If he beats him he’ll tell Sting who he is, but whilst Sid wants his belt, he won’t be satisfied until he gets his life! Jim Ross brings out Sting and he thinks the Black Scorpion must be getting inside his head as he tries to figure out who he is. Sting says that this is starting to get to him mentally as you don’t know how to prepare for someone like this, but someday soon he is going to find out who the Black Scorpion is. It’s so close when he hears him talk, when he sees his face and the silhouette, it’s on the tip of his tongue. There is a bit of a commotion in the crowd and the camera cuts to the Scorpion out there amongst the audience. Sting says that now is the time to find out who he is, and he goes charging off after him. The Scorpion has already said Sting wouldn’t recognise him if he saw his face, so why is Sting talking about being able to recognise who it is from the silhouette? The whole production of the Black Scorpion, from the promos, to the voice, to the outfit, looks cheap. Why did this just end when Sting went chasing after the Scorpion? Have the cameras follow him and then the Scorpion could have disappeared by the Sting arrives at where he was. There is a lot of repeated material in these promos and the Scorpion could at least give Sting another clue on his identity. These segments need to start going somewhere.