[2000-02-05-OVW-TV] Flash Flanagan vs Trailer Park Trash

[soup23]

Good look at Flash here. Finish here was a big schmozz that did nothing for me with referee’s fighting, Robbie D coming out and him and TPT going after each other. Flash had a good dive to the outside but again the booking was so interference heavy here that nothing seemed to resonate. Robbie D does hit a dropkick from the electric chair position which was impressive. Rico comes in to make the save for TPT. A misfire for OVW IMO. *1/2

[Loss]

I usually like Cornette on commentary, but I've found him a bit overbearing in OVW. He doesn't leave anything at all to the viewer, does too much shouting, and talks too fast. Everything is constantly turned up to eleven at all times, so there's no extra gravity for the moments that are supposed to resonate. I like both of these guys and this was going along well until all the ref run-ins started. One of those times the presentation of a match couldn't get out of its own way. Rico coming in and pinning the champ after he had a full match and acting like a hero. Some babyface. Did anyone else find the announcing really grating and actively unpleasant here? I kept turning the sound down and couldn't seem to get it low enough. While I haven't loved OVW, I haven't hated it either, but this whole thing has me pretty negative on it. Let's hope it's an outlier.

[goc]

This is my first look at this era of OVW and I'm not at all impressed. I do like the look and the gimmick of Trailer Park Trash although he doesn't seem to be all that good in the ring but this match is an overbooked mess & Cornette is REALLY bad on commentary. I have no idea why he felt the need TO YELL EVERYTHING like he was doing here. Flash did some a couple cool moves in this match and Robbie D had a very impressive spot during the run in but overall this was not very good.

 

I have read some criticism of the way WWE used Rico bringing him with that heel character after he'd been booked as a babyface in OVW but his look here is so 80s and lame he'd have NEVER gotten over like that in WWE.

 

[Tim Evans]

Robbie D was the most impressive thing about this match. That dropkick is awesome looking. Rest of the match was just an overbooked mess. Cornette would make Russo proud booking all that ref BS. The Rudo ref was bad and it overshadowed the match. I agree with Loss about the commentary. Cornette was just overbearing and overselling every little thing. Bad match and booking.

[Moonsault Marvin]

This was so convoluted with the multiple referees, interference, and then Rico getting the pinfall over Flash. The individual wrestlers all look to have potential, but Cornette's booking is holding them back instead of helping.

[GSR]

Heel referee Phil Fair is the official for this match and Cornette talks about how he doesn’t like Trash’s chances, when out comes the other OVW officials Joe Wheeler, Nick Dumayer and James Harden. They physically ejecty Fair out of there and Dumayer takes his place. The two start out fast with Trash peppering Flash with some rights, a DDT and a clothesline over the top rope to the floor. Flash blocks Trash trying to ram his head into the turnbuckles, elbows him in the mid-section and then rams Trash’s head into them instead. A series of chops from Flash, an Irish whip, he then charges at Trash, he moves and it’s now his turn to lay in those chops. Flash with a superkick, he tosses Trash to the outside and comes off the top with a somersault senton to the floor. Flash misses an elbow off the top and Trash starts to fire back. He whips Flash from corner to corner, sideslam and he goes for a crossbody but Flash pulls the referee in the way and Trash hits him instead. With the official down Phil Fair is back to take his place. Flash with the ‘Whiplash’ (Buff Blockbuster) and Fair counts the pin, when out comes referee Robert Brisco who stops the count and attacks Fair. The refs fight to the back, by which time Nick Dumayer is back to his feet. Trash with a DDT, and as Dumayer is counting this pin attempt he is dragged from the ring by Robbie D to break it. D’s interference costs Flash the match by DQ, he then decks Dumayer. Incredible dropkick by D to Trash who is sat on Flash’s shoulders. They continue to double team him until Rico Constantino makes the save and unloads on them both. He clotheslines D over the ropes to the floor, ‘Sudden Impact’ on Flash and from somewhere Robert Brisco is back to count a three and raise Constantino’s hand.

 

Where to start? The match was going along fine until the ref bump and then it was overbooked dross. Ref bump, heel ref, referees fighting each other, outside interference, a non-participant in the match getting a ‘pin’ over the champion. I don’t have the heart to write anymore about this, but between OVW and Power Pro I’ve had a gutful of Cornette’s booking for the time being. Hoping that we get at least one completely clean finish this month, although I’m not holding my breath. Search out Robbie D’s dropkick but that’s it.

[Stiva]

Cornette's booking is killing me, god damn. Between that and his inability to stop screaming on commentary, he's a lock for "Most Obnoxious" so far this year. I mean, where do you even start? It was a perfectly fine little TV match until all the nonsense started. You've got a heel ref, refs making the saves on other refs and a guy who isn't even in the match getting the pin. Total dross. Also, Rico's look and offense here is embarrassingly outdated. He looks like he would be getting squashed by Jake Roberts on Superstars and the whole "dropkick and pump fists" routine is the kind of thing that The Rockers were doing 10 years before this. Even by 2000, wrestling had well and truly passed Cornette by.