[2000-01-08-OVW-TV] Rob Conway vs Nick Dinsmore

[soup23]

I am still unsure of where I stand with these two. We saw a good bit of them in 1999. They both have the look and are good at building a match, but yet missing that one personality spark to make them set off. I think that is easy to say in retrospect knowing where their career landed, but it felt the same way watching this match. We get a perfectly fine 8 minute match that tells a story, has ups and downs, and would be pleasing on the WWF main shows. The end stretch had a nice booking touch where Cornette mentions on commentary that Conway still loads his glove from time to time. A minute later, Dinsmore hits a chain so that was handed to him from Kenny Bolin for a really close nearfall. This goads Conway into loading up the glove to retaliate but he waylays the ref instead. Another big move from DInsmore and a quick count by a second official allows Dinsmore to pick up the victory. A fine match, but I am still hoping for the great one to come out of OVW. **1/2

[Loss]

I really liked this one. I was prepared not to like it when babyface Rob Conway wrestled in his sunglasses and wouldn't stop flexing for the camera, but it got better after he took them off. Dinsmore in particular looked really seasoned, doing little things like shaking his own hand after punching Conway and doing a better job jaw-jacking and otherwise interacting with the studio crowd. He feels like he should be either Dash or Dawson in that tag team. They did not let up on the pace one bit and it's hard to ask for better action than what we got here. I also really liked the finish of Dinsmore hitting Conway with the chain and Conway doing a surprise kickout before getting the chain himself and trying the same thing, accidentally hitting the ref and then a heel ref coming in and doing a fast count off of Dinsmore's German suplex to give him the win. I'd probably really enjoy seeing these two in a longer arena match around this time, although I think Dinsmore is pretty clearly miles ahead of Conway by this point, as he should be since he's more experienced. ***

[Tim Evans]

Technically, this was fine wrestling. Both guys looked good and the match wasn't a overbooked mess. However, I just couldn't get into it. Both guys seemed like heels with both using a loaded glove/fist gimmick. It felt very 80's and by 2000 that was just played out. Especially compared to the Memphis stuff at the time. Did OVW really have a heel ref gimmick at the time? Oy vey

[Laney]

This was an okay match. It's kind of funny watching this and realizing that Rob Conway will make it to the main roster almost a year before Dinsmore. Dinsmore is better than Conway here, but neither one looks like they are ready for the main roster. I think Conway is supposed to be the face here, but he keeps his sunglasses on for the first minute of the match like he's some kind of asshole. Overall, everything was decent, but both guys lack personality and the heel ref finish is eye rolling.

 

**1/2

[cramerjason87]

This was a pretty fun match. It was was as basic as possible but they hit everything well and the match flowed. Had the feel of a 80s studio match between two lower card young wrestlers.

[AstroBoy]

This was really solid. Dinsmore did a good job of holding things together. It's kind of one of those matches where nothing wowed me about the performances from the wrestlers but the match just told a nice story and led to a nice stretch run. They get a really nice nearfall off the loaded punch and some storyline advancement on the finish itself. Dinsmore has really nice natural heel charisma.

[Moonsault Marvin]

Okay match. Conway lacks charisma here and never developed it later. Dinsmore shows some skill in his selling. I felt like they were rushing from move to move at times.

[goc]

Technically, this was fine wrestling. Both guys looked good and the match wasn't a overbooked mess. However, I just couldn't get into it. Both guys seemed like heels with both using a loaded glove/fist gimmick. It felt very 80's and by 2000 that was just played out. Especially compared to the Memphis stuff at the time. Did OVW really have a heel ref gimmick at the time? Oy vey

Yea this is exactly how I felt about the match. I mean I love 80s wrestling but this felt so behind the times and the presentation of it (especially the commentary) does it no favors. This almost feels more behind the times than even SMW although I'm not sure I could really explain it. CWF Mid-Atlantic manages to find the right balance between presenting an old school style of product while also making it modern enough to not feel like a throwback. OVW definitely didn't seem to find that balance, at least not in this 2000 stuff.

 

OVW did a great job training wrestlers, I think the amount of guys who came from OVW and went on to be top acts in WWE proves that. But as far as creating characters that WWE could just reach down and pluck up as is, it doesn't seem like they could do that at all. I know Cornette loved to complain about WWE always changing the gimmicks of everyone from OVW when they called them up, but looking at how dated the presentation of Nick Dinsmore & Rob Conway was, that seems like more of a necessity than WWE trying to sabotage his guys or anything. I mean there is just no way you could have taken either of those guys with their current look & gimmick and put them on WWF TV in 2000 and had them as anything more than jobbers on Heat.

[GSR]

Dinsmore is going by the moniker ‘Mr Wrestling’ and he’s managed by Kenny Bolin. Conway starts off the match wrestling in shades before he loses them. The two go back and forth with Cornette telling us how these two know each other so well. Nice hip toss takedown by Dinsmore but Conway responds with a boot to the mid-section and an ‘iron fist’ for two. Dinsmore blocks a superplex and comes off the top with a dropkick. He misses a splash off the top and Conway fires back with some rights. Back drop, back elbow, and he then misses the ‘iron fist’ from the turnbuckles. Double clothesline and both men are knocked down. Bolin throws a chain to Dinsmore, with which he nails Conway, only for him to kick out at the last second for a great near fall. Bolin is up on the apron and while he and Dinsmore argue the count, Conway pulls something out of his own tights and puts it in his glove. He goes to hit Diasmore but he moves and clocks the referee instead. German suplex by Dinsmore and a second referee (Phil Fair, heel official I thin) runs in to fast count the fall.

 

Didn’t care for this and I found it dull. The two are solid workers but that’s about it. The likes of Spanky and American Dragon might not be as polished as these yet, but give me those guys over these any day. I wish Cornette would take a break while on commentary for a bit, but he talks non-stop and when Dean Hill says something it’s like he is trying to compete and keep up with him. Having already watched all of Power Pro for the month, I suppose I should’ve been expecting a ref bump! One cracking near fall, but I hope OVW improves from here.

[aethelred]

This felt very training-school to me, particularly in the early going; almost as if they were doing stuff because "that's what wrestlers do at the beginning of the match". Having said that, it got more exciting later on. I have always wondered, though, how guys were ever supposed to get better when they were wrestling equally inexperienced opponents each night.

[Edwin]

This felt rushed as they were given very little time to work and they just were trying to get as much in as possible. Conway is very bland and made a lot of things feel flat. He also got hit with a German suplex for the finish which was enough to keep him down for the count, yet he was able to pop up from it just fine after the fact.