[2000-04-29-NWA Wildside-TV] A.J. Styles vs Jesse Taylor

[soup23]

Another good AJ match although I am still waiting on that 20 minute affair where he really stretches things out. Styles does one botch here jumping up on the top rope but recovers nicely by Taylor taking over immediately. Chris Cruise is on commentary doing a heel commentator gimmick which is unique to hear from him. Overall, a solid tv match that had a weird finish of Jeff G Bailey helping AJ win without him knowing. **1/4

[Loss]

This was not very good, and the commentary was distracting and borderline unbearable. They seemed like they were trying to get themselves over more than the match. AJ messes up a couple of moves and Taylor actually outworked him here, although he wasn't overly impressive or anything himself. With other AJ matches thus far, his inexperience only really showed relative to where he is now or where he'd be in a few years. Here, it just showed. Everyone has missteps here and there, though.

[GSR]

Chris Cruise on commentary for this one with Steve Martin. Nice fireman’s carry takedown into an armbar by Taylor. He blocks a Styles hiptoss and counters with a double arm suplex. When A.J. attempts it for a second time and again it’s blocked, this time he’s prepared and drops his opponent with a DDT. Taylor reverses a whip to the corner, A.J. leaps up to the top rope but he slips losing his footing like in the Golden ladder match earlier in the month. Unlike Golden though Taylor doesn’t just stand there, he grabs A.J. and hurls him to the canvas. Scoop powerslam for two. Styles falls face first to the ring floor after being forcefully whipped into the turnbuckles, and Taylor follows up with a diving headbutt to the back off the top for another two. A.J. regains the advantage after avoiding a charging Taylor who crashes shoulder first into the ringpost. His control doesn’t last for long though as he misses a ‘Stinger splash’ resulting in his own head colliding with the top tunbuckle. Big backdrop and a Russian legsweep for a nearfall. Break for the advertisements and we return to see Taylor getting his foot up and Styles running into it. Belly to belly suplex, but at two Jeff G. Bailey is out and up on the apron to stop the count. As the official has words with him, Onyx sneaks into the ring and clocks Taylor with his TV title belt. Styles ‘apparently’ didn’t see any of this and hits the ‘Swanton bomb’ for the win.

 

Styles and Taylor work well together and this was a solid little TV match, the only issue was the commentary. Chris Cruise is doing a full on heel commentator act and spends the duration of the match shitting on it, the two wrestlers and Wildside itself. It detracts from the action and becomes tiresome fast. Cruise referring to A.J. as ‘Joey Styles’ is mildly amusing at first, but not by the third or fourth time you hear it, while he also calls Taylor ‘Jesse James’, ‘Scotty Taylor’ and ‘Terry Taylor’. Talk about overkill. Finish was interesting as it seems to hint at a potential Styles heel turn.

[Robert S]

Cruise's commentary here is ... something else. I am not sure if I should laugh or be offended hearing him say "finally we have some colour in this match" after Onyx entered the ring. The other guy was heavily channeling mid 90ies Vince McMahon.

The match itself was actually quite decent. There were some sloppy spots but both worked fine over them.

[Edwin]

Chris Cruise commentary was obnoxious. Someone needed to tell him to tone it down a bit as it got to distracting.

 

AJ Styles went from showing signs of promise, to back to back underwhelming matches featuring some blatantly blown spots. The blown corner spot here didn't look as bad though as Taylor was smart enough to grab him and hit him with a nasty throw.

 

Forgettable.

[Moonsault Marvin]

This was a solid short tv match. Styles messed up jumping onto the ropes, but Taylor improvised quickly by tossing him across the ring. They continued the angle of the bad guys recruiting Styles.